Four of the world's top football stars are engaged in an extraordinary race for the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards at the 2026 World Cup: Argentina's Lionel Messi, France's Kylian Mbappé, and England's Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, in a historic competition that heats up as the tournament reaches its decisive stages.

The excitement began from the opening round, when Mbappé scored a brilliant brace against Senegal for France, before Messi responded with a historic hat-trick against Algeria for Argentina. The next day, Bellingham and Kane joined the scorers' list by finding the net in England's 4-2 win over Croatia.

After Mbappé went without goals or assists in France's semifinal loss to Spain, attention turns to the other trio in the Argentina-England matchup in the other semifinal, as all possibilities remain open in the battle for individual awards.

Jude Bellingham (England)

Goals: 6 | Assists: 1

The Real Madrid star has drawn comparisons with French legend Zinedine Zidane thanks to his exceptional displays for England, scoring brilliant braces against Mexico in the round of 16 and against Norway in the quarterfinals. Bellingham is considered the most influential player in the Three Lions' run to the semifinals, due to his goal contributions and efforts in all phases of play. At just 23 years old, he is steadily on course to become England's greatest star in World Cup history.

Harry Kane (England)

Goals: 6 | Assists: 1

Kane entered the tournament after an exceptional season with Bayern Munich in which he scored 61 goals in 51 official matches. The English striker equaled Gary Lineker's record as England's all-time top scorer in the tournament with 10 goals, before surpassing it with subsequent goals against Panama, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mexico. Kane, with a total of 14 goals in his World Cup career, looks to continue his exciting partnership with Bellingham to lead his country to the final.

Kylian Mbappé (France)

Goals: 8 | Assists: 3

Mbappé opened the tournament with a brace against Senegal to become France's all-time top scorer with 58 international goals. He has had an exceptional tournament as part of a deadly attacking partnership with Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise, scoring crucial goals against Sweden, Paraguay, and Morocco in the knockout stages. Mbappé, with his current tally of goals and assists, holds the advantage in the Golden Boot race, but France will have to settle for the third-place match after their loss to Spain.

Lionel Messi (Argentina)

Goals: 8 | Assists: 2

Messi's hat-trick in the opening match against Algeria was just the start of a historic campaign, as he raised his total World Cup goals to 21, surpassing Miroslav Klose's record. The Argentine legend led his team almost single-handedly to victories over Cape Verde and Egypt in the round of 32 and round of 16 respectively. At 39 years old, Messi plays every match as if it were his last in his illustrious career.