World Cup Golden Boot predictions: Who will win in 2026?

Seth Vertelney, USA TODAYTue, June 9, 2026 at 4:18 PM UTC

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In addition to the ultimate prize at the 2026 World Cup, there will be individual awards up for grabs.

One of the most prestigious is the Golden Boot, which goes to the tournament's top scorer.

The award for the top goal-scorer in the World Cup became official in 1982, when it was first called the Golden Shoe award. Since 2010, it has been known as the Golden Boot.

Some of the game's all-time greats including Gerd Müller, Eusebio and Ronaldo have been the tournament's top scorer.

But who will win in 2026? Here are our staff's predictions.

Lionel Messi - Argentina

Argentina won't repeat, but Messi will get to pad his stats in the group stage against Jordan and an easy round of 32 matchup. - Jesse Yomtov

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Harry Kane - England

Mr. Reliable, Kane scored 61 goals in all competitions for Bayern Munich this year. SIXTY-ONE! He averages about 0.7 goal per game in his England career, and I'm expecting the Three Lions to make a deep run this summer. - Matt Glenesk

Harry Kane - England

The Three Lions are poised to make a deep run, and just like when he won it in 2018, the group stage has a few chances for Kane to get up and running before the competition gets stiffer — and, for England, the travel gets much tougher. - Jon Arnold

Harry Kane - England

Kane is coming off the most prolific goal-scoring campaign of his career, scoring 61 goals in 51 matches across all competitions for Bayern Munich. So expect to see him carry over that club success for his country. - Jim Reineking

Kylian Mbappe - France

To win the Golden Boot, typically a player has to be good, their team has to be good and they need to be their team's penalty taker. Mbappe has all three and looks like a great bet to retain his Golden Boot crown from 2022. - Seth Vertelney

Erling Haaland - Norway

The Manchester City striker leads his country into its first World Cup since 1998. His size and speed are devastating in international play. He's scored 55 times in 49 matches for his country, and he should bag enough goals to take the award even if Norway doesn't reach the semifinals. - Erick Smith

Erling Haaland - Norway

Erling Haaland is a scoring machine. Even though he hasn't played on the World Cup stage before, he is no stranger to the spotlight and will keep doing what he does best, put the ball in the net. - Victoria Hernandez

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2026 World Cup Golden Boot predictions

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