With only the third-place playoff and the final remaining, there is just one more chance for players to secure individual recognition as the 2026 World Cup’s top goalscorer, joining an illustrious list of names from soccer history.Only four teams are still involved, and three of them provide the current top four in the Golden Boot standings: Kylian Mbappe of France and Argentina’s Lionel Messi lead the way on eight goals each, with England pair Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane on six apiece. Mikel Oyarzabal of Spain, the other side with a game left, is one back on five.Mbappe (eight goals in 2022) and Kane (six in 2018) have won the World Cup’s Golden Boot before, but it would be a first for Messi to add to his many accolades at age 39.Previous winners of this award have earned big moves off the back of the achievement, but others have suffered drops in form afterwards. Let’s take a look at who is likely to receive the trophy this year.Race for the Golden BootMessi and Mbappe have already overtaken Miroslav Klose of Germany on the World Cup’s all-time top goalscorers chart during the 2026 tournament, so are duelling not just for top scorer at this edition — but in almost 100 years of the competition’s history.Both could have added to their tallies by converting penalties over the past five weeks, but Messi has missed two during this World Cup and Mbappe one.Should they remain tied when the tournament ends on Sunday, there is a tiebreaker process.The first step is assists, the second is most minutes played.Messi registered his fourth assist in setting up two goals in the semi-final win against England, overtaking Mbappe, who is on three. Were they to finish tied on goals and assists, Messi is currently leading the way on minutes played: 712 for the Argentina captain compared to France skipper Mbappe’s 666.Although Messi has never won the Golden Boot at this tournament, he has received the Golden Ball, the award for a World Cup’s best player overall in both 2014 (four goals, one assist) and 2022 (seven and three).No player has scored more than eight goals in one edition of the tournament since Gerd Muller of West Germany got 10 in 1970. Frenchman Just Fontaine holds the record for most goals in one World Cup, scoring 13 times in the 1958 edition.