Who won the World Cup 2026 Golden Boot? Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Harry Kane stats

The 2026 World Cup final took place on July 19 when Spain faced reigning champions Argentina in New Jersey, while the third-placed playoff between France and England was staged in Miami on Saturday.

While every player dreams of lifting the iconic World Cup trophy, the most prolific stars from across the globe also had their eyes on a prestigious Golden Boot accolade this summer.

As Spain celebrated their collective success, none of the men on the MetLife Stadium field finished at the top of the scoring charts; instead, the prize proved consolatory for a fourth-placed finisher.

Here, Sports Mole takes you through the race for the World Cup 2026 Golden Boot.

World Cup 2026: Kylian Mbappe wins Golden Boot

The ultimate goal for France talisman Mbappe this summer was to exorcise the demons of Qatar 2022 and win his second World Cup title after his 2018 triumph. However, the Real Madrid forward captained a French side who were second best in a 2-0 semi-final loss to Spain on Tuesday.

While a start Mbappe for France in the third-placed playoff against England was not guaranteed, the 27-year-old was involved from he start, considering that he remained firmly in the race to win the Golden Boot and become the first player in history to claim the award twice at the World Cup.

Mbappe had netted eight goals in seven games at this summer's tournament before the bronze medal match. and by bagging a brace in France's 6-4 third-place playoff loss, he hit double figures for the 2026 World Cup.

As Lionel Messi then blanked in Argentina's crushing final loss, Mbappe retained the Golden Boot, becoming the first player in history to win the accolade in successive tournaments.

Two other strong contenders for the Golden Boot were England's pair Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, who had netted six goals each before the third-placed playoff, before the latter moved onto seven to break the record for the most World Cup goals by an Englishman at one edition.

How close was Lionel Messi to winning the Golden Boot at World Cup?

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are two legendary players firmly in the conversation to be the greatest of all time, but only one of them will end their career as a World Cup winner - one may even boast two world titles!

Indeed, Messi lifted his first world title in 2022 and remains in contention to celebrate another triumph on the biggest stage, that is if he goes for another in 2030.

The 39-year-old scored eight goals in eight games, two shy of Mbappe, and also one adrift of the Frenchman's 22 in the all-time charts with his 21.

While Messi has rewritten the World Cup record books, Ronaldo will go down as one of the greatest ever players to never win a World Cup, after Portugal suffered a slender 1-0 defeat to Spain in the last 16.

Now 41 years of age, Ronaldo has scored more international goals than any other player in history (146 in 233 caps) and is the only player to have scored in six different editions of the World Cup, most recently scoring his first-ever knockout round goal in Portugal's round-of-32 win against Croatia.

However, having now performed his final dance on the global stage, Ronaldo exits the World Cup with a record of 11 goals and two assists in 27 games, including just one goal in 11 knockout matches.

World Cup 2026: Who else was in the frame to win the Golden Boot?

Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele was an outside contender to win the Golden Boot after scoring five goals en route to the semi-finals, but he failed to mount a serious charge.

The only other player on five goals and just behind the main top-four contenders was Spain's Mikel Oyarzabal, who converted from the penalty spot to open the scoring for La Roja against France, before blanking in the final.