Harry Kane, Erling Haaland and the top 10 Golden Boot contenders at the 2026 World Cup - ranked

The chances of the U.S. supplying the Golden Boot winner might feel slim, but in Folarin Balogun, the World Cup co-hosts can boast one of the most in-form forwards in world football. The 24-year-old is coming off campaign during which he scored 19 goals for Monaco, 12 of which came in his 18 appearances since the turn of the year.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side will be hoping that home advantage can help them make an impact at their own tournament, and they certainly have a great chance of making it through to the knockout phase, perhaps as Group D winners, after being drawn to face Paraguay, Turkiye and Australia.

Balogun can also point to a strong record an international level since switching allegiance from England. Ahead of the World Cup, he has nine goals and four assists in 26 outings, and will aim to add to that tally this summer.

Luis Diaz heads into the World Cup with Colombia after an impressive debut season in Germany following his summer move from Liverpool. The forward scored 26 goals for Bayern Munich as he formed one-third of the most fearsome attacks in Europe.

Diaz is comfortably Colombia’s leading man and showed his class in qualifying. A brace against Brazil delivered Colombia’s first ever win over the Selecao and came just after his father had been freed from kidnappers in what was a terrifying ordeal.

The Colombia star followed that up with a stunning goal against reigning world champions Argentina, showing he’s the man for the big occasion and able to beat the very best. Colombia’s opening group game is against World Cup debutants Uzbekistan, which offers up the chance to start the competition with a bang.

Vinicius Jr has been united with his former Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti at international level, and the Brazil boss will be hoping to be the man to finally get the best out of the wing wizard in a Selecao shirt.

Vinicius doesn’t possess the best goal-scoring record at international level - his strike against Panama on Sunday was just his ninth in 48 appearances - but he’s coming off a season where he’s rediscovered his form in front of goal for Madrid and certainly has the quality and big-game experience needed to light up the World Cup.

Brazil also have a group that may just provide plenty of goals. Haiti are back at the World Cup for the first time in 52 years, while Ancelotti's will also take on Scotland and dark horses Morocco as they begin a campaign that they hope will end with a sixth title.

The presence of a certain eight-time Ballon d'Or winner means there is usually only space for one of either Julian Alvarez or Lautaro Martinez in the Argentina attack, and though the Inter man was the top scorers at the 2024 Copa America, Alvarez's all-round game and stamina mean he may well have the edge when Lionel Scaloni selects his line up for the tournament.

Alvarez has endured something of a difficult season with Atletico Madrid - he only scored twice in La Liga from the start of October onwards - while his future remains firmly in the spotlight, but his ability can’t be questioned. The chance to put those troubles aside and shine for Argentina may even prove the perfect tonic for the forward this summer.

Although Messi will hog the spotlight, Alvarez’s eye for goal could prove crucial to Scaloni’s side potentially defending their crown. He scored four goals in seven appearances at the 2022 tournament, meaning he was only outscored by Messi and Mbappe, and has the potential to produce much more four years on.

Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo may have already celebrated his 41st birthday, but he remains a potent force for club and country. Five goals in five games in qualifying helped Portugal secure their spot at the tournament, despite Ronaldo missing the final game through suspension.

Ronaldo has since been cleared to play a full part this summer after FIFA suspended two games of his ban for elbowing Ireland defender Dara O'Shea, and Portugal will be expected to top a group containing Colombia, DR Congo and debutants Uzbekistan.

The veteran superstar will also be helped by the incredible amount of attacking talent in the Portugal squad. Bruno Fernandes, Rafael Leao, Pedro Neto, Francisco Conceicao, Bernardo Silva and Ronaldo's Al-Nassr team-mate Joao Felix are an incredible supporting cast with the ability to create chances all day long.

Lionel Messi will be out to defend the World Cup trophy after leading Argentina to glory in 2022 and finally completing football. Or has he? The Inter Miami superstar may have won almost everything the game has to offer, but he has never claimed a World Cup Golden Boot.

This summer's showpiece will be Messi’s last chance to put that right. Argentina’s No.10 will celebrate his 39th birthday during the tournament and knows this will surely be his final appearance at a global tournament.

Messi has certainly shown few signs of slowing down. He won the MLS Golden Boot last season by netting 35 times and also finished as the top scorer in CONMEBOL qualifying, with eight goals to his name. Despite heading towards the end of his career, there’s simply no way he can be ruled out when it comes to the top scorer race.

Real Sociedad forward Mikel Oyarzabal may not seem the most obvious contender to win the Golden Boot, but his scoring record simply can’t been ignored. Having netted the winner in the Euro 2024 final, Oyarzabal has scored 11 times in his last 11 appearances for La Roja, including six in six during qualifying.

The Real Sociedad frontman is also coming off his best-ever season for goals in La Liga (15), suggesting he’s warming up nicely for this summer’s tournament.

Spain are one of the favourites heading into the World Cup and are expected to go deep in the tournament, further boosting Oyarzabal’s hopes of lifting the Golden Boot. A group containing Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia should also offer the 29-year-old plenty of opportunities to make a fast start, while it also should be noted that he takes penalties. Factor in Lamine Yamal's injury ruling him out of the start of the competition, and Oyarzabal is Spain's primary Golden Boot candidate.

Erling Haaland netted an outrageous 16 goals in eight qualifiers, double the next highest scorer in European qualifying, to power Norway to their first World Cup since 1998. The Manchester City man will now compete at a major international tournament for the first time and will be out to impress.

He’s not the only superstar in the squad, either. Manager Stale Solbakken can call on Martin Odegaard, Oscar Bobb and Antonio Nusa to help out his prolific striker, and Norway’s 100 percent record in qualifying suggests they may just be one of the dark horses at the competition.

Yet it won't all be smooth sailing for Haaland. Group games against France and Senegal in the group stages will provide stiff tests for this exciting Norwegian team, and thus Haaland will want to hit the ground running in his side's opening match against Iraq.

Kylian Mbappe won the Golden Boot in 2022 by scoring eight goals in seven games, and it would not be a shock if the Real Madrid superstar were to lift the trophy once again in 2026. He's already served notice with an outrageous effort for France against Brazil in March's international friendlies, and he will have one of the best supporting casts of any Golden Boot contender, with Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, Rayan Cherki and Desire Doue set to be loading the bullets for Mbappe to fire.

Mbappe has spent the past season banging in the goals for fun, scoring 42 goals in 44 games for Madrid, and though he has a couple of injuries niggles to deal with, the 27-year-old has generally saved his best for World Cups. Expect another strong showing from Mbappe this time around.

Harry Kane is a player who already has a World Cup Golden Boot in his trophy collection and will be aiming to add to 2018’s prize this summer. The England captain scored eight goals in eight games in qualifying and has already cemented his place as the Three Lions' all-time top goal-scorer.

Working in the 32-year-old's favour is that he arrives at this tournament in the form of his life after scoring an incredible 61 goals in all competitions over the course of Bayern Munich's double-winning campaign. Any concern over him slowing down as we head towards the summer were alleviated, too, as Kane rounded out the season with back-to-back hat-tricks.

Kane will be expected to lead England’s charge and improve on their quarter-final exit last time around. England’s No.9 should fancy his chances of getting off the mark early in a group containing Croatia, Ghana and Panama, the latter of whom he scored a hat-trick against during the 2018 tournament.