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Messi Mbappe Haaland World Cup Golden boot 16:9

World Cup Golden Boot standings: Messi moves ahead of Mbappe

The 2026 World Cup is well underway and so is the race for the prestigious Golden Boot - the award given to the tournament's top scorer. There's a long and winding road to be navigated as 48 nations battle for the top prize, but which star will take home the illustrious award? Here, GOAL tracks the tournament's most prolific stars.

World CupArgentina
Winners losers World Cup group stage GFX

Winners & losers of the World Cup group stage

The group stage of the 2026 World Cup came to a dramatic conclusion on Saturday, as Austria scored a 96th-minute equaliser against Algeria to qualify for the knockout stage while simultaneously eliminating Iran, who had been set to progress as one of the tournament's third-placed finishers. Elsewhere, Lionel Messi came off the bench to help Argentina maintain their 100 percent winning record with a 3-1 victory over Jordan and, in doing so, the No.10 extended his record-breaking goals tally at the finals to 19.

Winners & LosersWorld Cup
Spain v Cabo Verde: Group H - FIFA World Cup 2026

How have debutant teams performed at the FIFA World Cup?

Four nations made debuts at the 2026 World Cup, with Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan gracing the grandest stage in international football for the first time. It is the tournament with the most newcomers since 2006 and Cape Verde have achieved the feat of ending a 16-year wait for a debutant to reach the knockout stages, with the African nation to face Lionel Messi's Argentina on Friday.

World CupCabo Verde
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Standings

National First Division crestNational First Division

PosTeamPWDLFA+/-PTSForm
5JDR Stars crestJDR Stars30121083330346
L
D
W
D
W
6Upington City crestUpington City30111183832644
D
W
W
L
D
7Casric Stars FC crestCasric Stars FC30111094639743
D
D
W
L
L
8Hungry Lions FC crestHungry Lions FC30119103632442
W
W
L
D
L
9Orbit College crestOrbit College30116133040-1039
L
L
L
D
L
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Betting spotlight

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