Di stars don shine for di 2026 World Cup as we dey di knockout rounds. Di top scorers dey separate demsef from di pack, and we dey track di race for di Golden Boot, di award wey dey give to di World Cup top goal scorer. Assists dey use as tiebreaker if two or more players get same goal total.
Lionel Messi add to im tally late for group play on Saturday night with a sublime free kick from outside di box. E be im sixth goal of di tournament after a hat trick for Argentina opener against Algeria and brace against Austria. As of di end of di group stage, Messi be one of five players wit at least four goals.
Ranking show: Lionel Messi (Argentina) get 6 goals, Kylian Mbappé (France) get 5 goals plus 2 assists, Erling Haaland (Norway) get 5 goals, Ousmane Dembélé (France) get 4 goals plus 1 assist, and Vinícius Júnior (Brazil) get 4 goals plus 1 assist. Others like Johan Manzambi (Switzerland), Ismaila Sarr (Senegal), Ismael Saibari (Morocco), Jonathan David (Canada), Matheus Cunha (Brazil), and Harry Kane (England) all get 3 goals each.
France Kylian Mbappé and Norway Erling Haaland just one goal behind Messi wit dia efforts on Tuesday. Mbappé earn im fifth goal for France knockout-round matchup wit Sweden to give im team di first-half lead, and Haaland find di back of di net for di final moments of Norway Round of 32 win over Ivory Coast. Mbappé get di tiebreaker between di two players wit two assists to im name for di tournament.
Messi go get chance to add to im lead on Friday against Cape Verde as di field whittle down to 16 teams. Messi, Ousmane Dembélé, and Canada Jonathan David don author hat tricks. Messi own come for Argentina opener against Algeria, Dembélé own take place for rapid fashion on Friday versus Norway, and David three-goal showcase arrive amid Canada first-ever World Cup win, a 6-0 trouncing of Qatar.
Argentina be one-man team, right? Messi get six of dia eight goals at dis World Cup and don score for a record seven straight World Cup games, going back to di last edition. Only Mbappé (8) score more than Messi seven goals for Qatar four years ago. For 2022, Argentina win di World Cup for di first time since 1986, and Messi be dia inspiration. E hard to imagine Lionel Scaloni team win for Qatar without di contributions of di former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star.
But even though di 39-year-old dey on fire at dis tournament, di surprising revelation be say Argentina win percentage without Messi be di same as wit am. Since di last World Cup, di world champions don win 83% of dia games wit Messi and 83% without am. Dem score more goals when he dey on di pitch than when he no dey — 58 to 35 — and Messi don score 25 goals and register nine assists for im 30 appearances since 2022, making up for 27% of Argentina goals. However, di reality be say Argentina just as formidable when Messi no dey di team.
France be di favorites to win dis World Cup, and dat be largely due to di incredible attacking talents on Les Bleus squad. Dembélé, Michael Olise, Désiré Doué, and Bradley Barcola all be top players, but Mbappé be France superstar, and di numbers prove am. When Mbappé no play, France win percentage be just 50%. But when he play, dem win 71% of dia games, and dem score at a greater than 3-to-1 ratio more often when he dey di pitch. For terms of chances created, Mbappé presence make France much more formidable. Dem don register 472 chances wit am on di field compared wit 154 when he no dey. Still, France fit score without am. Mbappé don score 24% of dia goals since 2022, proving say coach Didier Deschamps don work out how to tap into di skills of im supporting cast up front.
For Norway, e really be case of no Haaland, no party. Stale Solbakken side give a glimpse into life without di Manchester City forward when Norway lose 4-1 to France last week, wit stand-in forward Jorgen Strand Larsen missing a penalty during a particularly toothless performance for Boston. Norway be a different team wit Haaland, win 69% of games wit am compared wit 25% without am. When Haaland don play, Norway don score 74 goals since 2022 and just 21 without am. Di 25-year-old don score 38 goals and register four assists since 2022, and he account for 40% of Norway goals for dat time. So, though di numbers show say England rely heavily on Kane, nobody be more important to dia team at dis World Cup than Haaland be to Norway. If Haaland stay fit, Norway fit go far at dis tournament. Without am, dem dey go home.
