“Sometimes in football, you have to score goals.”There are only four games remaining in the 2026 World Cup and Thierry Henry’s words from 2008 ring truer than they ever have.While the overall trophy is the key focus for the semifinalists, the Golden Boot award for the most prolific goalscorer is up for grabs too.The winner of that award can be unpredictable, as the trophy hasn’t fallen to a player in the tournament’s winning side since 2002, when Ronaldo scored eight for Brazil on their way to a record-breaking fifth World Cup.No one has bested Just Fontaine’s record-breaking tally in 1958, when the France forward netted 13 times despite the nation losing in their semi-final. But with 16 more teams and 40 more matches than the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, there have been more goals than ever before.This article will be updated throughout the World CupWhat happens if multiple players finish on the same goal tally?Since 1992, the ranking if goals are tied has been decided by the most assists.This happened in 2010 when Spain’s David Villa, Uruguay’s Diego Forlan and the Netherlands’ Wesley Sneijder all had the same number of goals as Thomas Muller (5). The Germany legend won the award, however, as he had provided three assists, which was more than the one managed by the other contenders.In 2006, a further tiebreak was introduced if assists are the same too, giving the honor to the player who scored their goals in the fewest minutes.So, how does the race look?1. Kylian Mbappe (France) – 8 goals(3 assists – 563 minutes)Mbappe helped get France’s campaign off to a strong start, netting twice in their opening 3-1 win over Senegal.The Real Madrid striker then opened the scoring once more in France’s game against Iraq, firing in from range. Following a lengthy weather delay in Philadelphia, he doubled France’s lead in the second half.Mbappe became France’s all-time leading scorer with his double against Senegal. (Charly Triballeau / AFP via Getty Images)He has kept up his form as the tournament reached the knockout stages, scoring twice against Sweden in the round of 32 with two fine strikes, once against Paraguay from the penalty spot and netting again against Morocco in the quarter-final.2. Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 8 goals(2 assists – 607 minutes)Messi thought he had scored early on in Argentina’s World Cup opener against Algeria, only for the goal to be chalked off after he was found to be offside. There was no offside question, though, when he whipped one in from 20 yards out later in the first half.In the second period, Messi scored his second after Luca Zidane in the Algeria goal spilt a low-range shot from Alexis Mac Allister straight to the Argentina captain, leaving him with an easy finish.Messi netted his 14th, 15th and 16th World Cup goals against Algeria. (Reuters / Claudia Greco)To seal his hat-trick, Messi characteristically bent the ball from the edge of the box as though he was passing to a teammate behind the goal, with Zidane nowhere near.His fourth came after he had already missed a penalty in Argentina’s second game against Austria, with the Inter Miami man finishing first time from Facundo Medina. That goal saw him take an outright lead as the men’s World Cup all-time top goalscorer. Messi added his fifth in two games late on against Austria, finishing from close range after his own shot had been blocked.