Messi, Mbappe, Haaland and Kane set up blockbuster World Cup Golden Boot race

SINGAPORE: With more teams than ever before, the expanded 2026 World Cup has produced one of the most competitive Golden Boot races.

The highly coveted award is presented to the top goalscorer at the end of the tournament. If two or more players have the same number of goals, assists are used as the first tiebreaker.

If the players are still tied, total minutes played will be taken into account, with the player who played fewer minutes ranked higher.

Here are the top four players in the running for the Golden Boot, with Argentina’s Lionel Messi leading the way.