City (Lord Media): The race for the Golden Boot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup has become exceptionally thrilling as three of the world’s top forwards, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland, fiercely compete against each other. After the first two matches of the tournament, Lionel Messi leads with five goals, while Mbappe and Haaland are close behind with four goals each.<\/p>\n
This marks only the second time in World Cup history that three players have scored four or more goals after the initial two matches. Messi scored twice against Austria, securing victory for his team and setting a new record for the most goals in World Cup history.<\/p>\n
Kylian Mbappe made his 100th international appearance memorable by scoring two goals against Iraq, equaling Miroslav Klose’s record with 16 goals. Norway’s Erling Haaland also scored twice against Senegal, helping his team advance to the next stage.<\/p>\n
Experts suggest that these three stars are not only vying for the Golden Boot but also challenging the overall World Cup goal records. England’s Harry Kane could also join the race, having scored two goals in his first match.<\/p>\n
Analysts believe that the new format with 48 teams and additional matches has led to an increase in goals. The Golden Boot race now hinges on whether Messi can maintain his lead or if Mbappe and Haaland will surpass him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Messi leads the World Cup Golden Boot race with 5 goals, closely followed by Mbappe and Haaland with 4 each, as the tournament heats up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":67406,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1632,287,1008,390,278],"ppma_author":[94],"class_list":["post-75828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uncategorized","tag-erling-haaland","tag-football","tag-kylian-mbappe","tag-lionel-messi","tag-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n