No goal, no problem: Messi moves ahead of Mbappe for elusive Golden Boot
Lionel Messi moved to the top of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Golden Boot race despite failing to score in Argentina's 2-1 semifinal win over England on Thursday, producing two assists to overtake Kylian Mbappe.
The Argentina captain now has 12 goal contributions -- eight goals and four assists -- edging ahead of Mbappe's 11 (eight goals and three assists) after setting up Enzo Fernandez's equaliser and Lautaro Martinez's stoppage-time winner.
Messi also extended his World Cup assist record to 12. Earlier in the tournament, he became the first player to register an assist in six different editions of the competition.
The Golden Boot remains one of the few major honours missing from Messi's glittering career. Having inspired Argentina to the 2014 final and captained them to World Cup glory in 2022, the award for the tournament's top scorer is one accolade that has so far eluded the Argentine captain.
He heads into Sunday's final against Spain as the favourite to finish as the tournament's top scorer and finally claim the Golden Boot. The prize will be effectively secured if Mbappe fails to score against England in the third-place playoff, as Spain forward Mikel Oyarzabal, who has five goals and one assist, would still need an extraordinary haul in the final to overtake Messi.
Under FIFA regulations, assists are used as the first tiebreaker for the Golden Boot if players finish level on goals.
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