After the quarter-final stage of the World Cup, the dispute for the World Cup’s top scorer gained a new chapter. Striker Kylian Mbappé, from France, caught Lionel Messi, from Argentina, in the lead, both with eight goals scored. Mbappé found the back of the net once in France’s 2-0 victory against Morocco, overtaking Haaland and consolidating his position in the fight for the golden boot, which intensifies the excitement of the tournament. Ousmane Dembelé also contributed to the French classification, scoring his fifth goal in the competition.
The Argentine team, in turn, secured a place in the semifinals by beating Switzerland 3-1 in extra time. Despite the advance, Lionel Messi failed to score in this match. The Albiceleste team’s goals were scored by Mac Allister, Julián Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez, while Ndoye was responsible for the only Swiss goal.
On the English scene, Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid midfielder, shone brightly in the quarter-finals. He was instrumental in England’s 2-1 victory over Norway, scoring both goals in extra time. This performance lifted Bellingham up the scoring charts, equaling teammate Harry Kane with six goals. With England progressing to the semi-finals, Norwegian Haaland, who was in second with seven goals, ended his participation in the dispute.
In the “waiters” category, which counts assists, Frenchman Olise maintains the isolated lead, adding five passes to goal. Among the vice-leaders, Odegaard, from Norway, stands out, but his team was eliminated from the World Cup. Other names who also said goodbye to the competition and were in second place include Bruno Guimarães, from Brazil, and Brahim Díaz, from Morocco. Below them, eight athletes have three assists, however, only Mbappé and the Englishmen Gordon and Saka remain active in the tournament.
Updated ranking of the World Cup’s top scorers
1. Messi (Argentina) and Mbappé (France): 8
3. Haaland (Norway): 7
4. Bellingham (England) and Harry Kane (England): 6
6. Dembélé (France): 5
7. Vini Jr. (Brazil), Oyarzabal (Spain), Quiñones (Mexico) and Ismaila Sarr (Senegal): 4
11. Havertz (Germany), Undav (Germany), De Ketelaere (Belgium), Lukaku (Belgium), Matheus Cunha (Brazil), Jonathan David (Canada), Balogun (United States), Brobbey (Netherlands), Gakpo (Netherlands), Saibari (Morocco), Raúl Jiménez (Mexico), Just (New Zealand), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Wissa (DR Congo) and Manzambi (Switzerland): 3
26. Lautaro Martínez (Argentina), Mahrez (Algeria), Arnautovic (Austria), Tielemans (Belgium), Trossard (Belgium), Mahmic (Bosnia), Larin (Canada), Muñoz (Colombia), Diallo (Ivory Coast), Pépé (Ivory Coast), Ashour (Egypt), Zico (Egypt), Merino (Spain), Tillman (United States), Barcola (France), Summerville (Netherlands), Rezaeian (Iran), Kamada (Japan), Ueda (Japan), Ounahi (Morocco), Rahimi (Morocco), Pape Gueye (Senegal), Ayari (Sweden), Elanga (Sweden), Embolo (Switzerland), Vargas (Switzerland) and Maxi Araújo (Uruguay): 2
54. Maseko (South Africa), Mokoena (South Africa), Brown (Germany), Musiala (Germany), Nmecha (Germany), Sané (Germany), Schlotterbeck (Germany), Al-Amri (Saudi Arabia), Cuti Romero (Argentina), Enzo Fernández (Argentina), Julián Álvarez (Argentina), Lisandro Martínez (Argentina), Lo Celso (Argentina), Mac Allister (Argentina), Belghali (Algeria), Benbouali (Algeria), Gouiri (Algeria), Irankunda (Australia), Metcalfe (Australia), Kalajdzic (Austria), Sabitzer (Austria), Schmid (Austria) Lukic (Bosnia), Casemiro (Brazil), Gabriel Martinelli (Brazil), Neymar (Brazil), Deroy Duarte (Cape Verde), Hélio Varela (Cape Verde), Kevin Pina (Cape Verde), Sidny Cabral (Cape Verde), Eustáquio (Canada), Promise David (Canada), Saliba (Canada), Al-Haydos (Qatar), Campaz (Colombia), Jhon Arias (Colombia) Salah (Egypt), Trézéguet (Egypt), Yasser Ibrahim (Egypt), Angulo (Ecuador), Plata (Ecuador), McGinn (Scotland), Baena (Spain), Fabián Ruiz (Spain), Lamine Yamal (Spain), Pedro Porro (Spain), Berhalter (United States), Freeman (United States), Reyna (United States), Trusty (United States), Doué (France), Luckassen (Ghana), Yirenkyi (Ghana), Isidor (Haiti), Van Dijk (Netherlands), Van Hecke (Netherlands), Rashford (England), Mohebi (Iran), Aymen Hussein (Iraq), Junya Ito (Japan), Maeda (Japan), Nakamura (Japan), Sano (Japan), Al-Rashdan (Jordan), Al-Tamari (Jordan), Olwan (Jordan), Diop (Morocco), Hakimi (Morocco), Yassine (Mar rocos), Fidalgo (Mexico), Mateo Chávez (Mexico), Romo (Mexico), Aasgaard (Norway), Nusa (Norway), Ostigaard (Norway), Pedersen (Norway), Schjelderup (Norway), Surman (New Zealand), Enciso (Paraguay), Galarza (Paraguay), Maurício (Paraguay), Gonçalo Ramos (Portugal), João Neves (Portugal) Svanberg (Sweden), Ndoye (Switzerland),
