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Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and the quest for World Cup immortality
Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi are one win each away from back-to-back World Cup final showdowns Photos: Getty Images; design: Demetrius Robinson
In four short weeks, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe have rewritten the course of World Cup history.
Both have defied what we thought was possible on football’s biggest, most illustrious stage. They have torn through the 2026 edition of the competition, sweeping aside nations with their brilliance alone, all while shattering records that had stood for decades before.
For Messi, we can only marvel at his longevity, still able to swing games his way at the age of 39.
Ranking the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot Contenders
The 2026 World Cup will be remembered as an edition where the stars came out to play.
Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and more have lit up North America enchanting fans both new and old, while setting up one of the most exciting Golden Boot races in the tournament’s 96-year history.
With two more opportunities for the leading contenders to add to their totals, a potentially record-breaking contest will go down to the wire.
The World Cup Golden Boot goes to the tournament's top goal scorer. Unlike the media-voted Golden Ball, this one is purely a numbers game: most goals wins. In modern editions, assists has served as the tiebreaker if scorers are level.
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Messi, Mbappé, Bellingham And Kane Providing A Golden Boot Race For The Ages
For a few days, this was the best Golden Boot race in living memory. Four legends, separated by two goals, all still alive. Then Saturday in Miami thinned the field in the most dramatic way possible.
Norway's dream ended in extra time, England winning, 2-1, and the man who had scored in every single match his country played was finally, mercifully for defenders, held quiet. Seven goals, a historic run to the quarterfinals, and now a plane home. The most efficient scorer the sport has produced never got his shootout at the top. Cruel game.
His conqueror complicated things too. Jude Bellingham scored twice against Norway — including the extra-time winner — to reach six goals and pull level with his own teammate, Harry Kane. So England now carries two men on six into a semifinal. Neither is out of it. Both would need a historic run over two games to catch the leaders. Not impossible. Not likely.
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