Big Guns Fire in Early Stages of the World Cup

Fans have now seen every team at the 2026 World Cup play once. It has been an interesting tournament thus far. We have seen plenty of goals in the early stages of the tournament. After the first round of matches, the tournament average stands at 3.13 goals per game.

That will probably drop as the tournament goes on. Certainly, once we reach the later knockout rounds, such high-scoring clashes are uncommon. The tournament average in Qatar was 2.69 goals, and before that, in the 2018 World Cup, it was 2.64. The current high mark is boosted in part due to some one-sided fixtures where superior sides have fired in the goals. However, it is also partly down to the fact that the game’s most potent hitmen have all made flying starts in North America.

Heavyweights Set Pace in Race for Golden Boot

One of the most popular betting markets at the World Cup is the Golden Boot, or top scorer. Before a ball was kicked, players such as Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Lamine Yamal and Vinícius Júnior were among the favourites. The market was fairly open, though.

Now, though, after one round of games, the cream has already begun to rise to the top. Three players are co-favourites, bookies pricing them at odds of 7/2. The oddsmakers price just one other forward at single-digit odds.

It is no real surprise who the frontrunners are. But what is perhaps surprising is just how well all four have begun at this World Cup. Those four players are Messi, Kane, Mbappé and Haaland.

Golden Quartet Shine

Mbappé won the Golden Boot last time in Qatar, scoring eight goals. That was more than Messi. In the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Kane was top dog, registering six goals. This is Haaland’s first World Cup. However, the Norwegian has a serious pedigree. He has won the Premier League Golden Boot three times in the last four seasons. That includes the 2025/26 campaign.

The City star also won the European Golden Shoe in 2022/23. That prize goes to the highest points-scorer in European football. Goals earn points but are weighted according to the quality of the league in which the player scores them. Three of the four leading players in the World Cup Golden Boot race have monopolised the Golden Shoe over the last four seasons.

Kane won in 2025/26 thanks to his 36 league goals for Bayern. He also won in 2023/24 with the same tally. Indeed, that total was matched by Haaland when he won. Mbappé led the way in 2024/25 with 31 goals for Real Madrid.

Messi has been playing in America since 2023. He is older than the others and last won the European Golden Shoe in 2018/19. That was, though, his third win in a row, an unprecedented hat-trick that took his total of wins to a record six. This is the calibre of player that fans are getting to see at this World Cup.

Messi Nets First World Cup Treble

Messi currently tops the scoring charts at the World Cup. The Argentine GOAT further cemented his status as the best player ever to have played the game by scoring a hat-trick against Algeria. He scored all three of Argentina’s goals. In fact, he could have scored four or five.

Even so, his treble, his first at the World Cup, moved him to 16 goals across his record-equalling six World Cup tournaments. That means nobody has scored more in the game’s premier global tournament. He is currently tied with Miroslav Klose. However, he will surely move out in front on his own during this tournament.

His strike rate, 0.59 goals per match, does not compare to the likes of Just Fontaine (2.17 per game), Hungarian Sándor Kocsis (2.20), or even Gerd Muller (1.08). But his longevity and his ability to lift his side are truly incredible traits. He no longer has the pace and electric acceleration of old. His goals against Algeria demonstrated that his finishing is as sharp as ever, though.

Mbappé Silences Critics

Mbappé has faced a lot of criticism in recent months, both from Real Madrid fans and his countrymen. It seems very strange, given his output remains remarkable. The 27-year-old netted 42 times in 44 games for his club, adding seven assists as well. It’s a tough crowd in Spain!

He also started this tournament with a bang. He scored twice in his country’s opener, a 3-1 win over Senegal. The second, in stoppage time at the end of the game, was a screamer. It also moved him ahead of Olivier Giroud as his country’s leading all-time scorer. Additionally, his incredible strike saw him move to 14 World Cup goals from just five matches.

That tally makes him France’s top scorer at the tournament too, giving him one more than Fontaine managed. Admittedly, the former Nice and Reims hitman took just six games at one tournament to bag his!

Haaland Takes to the Biggest Stage With Ease

Many fans and pundits have tipped Norway as dark horses at the 2026 World Cup. Despite that, it is clear that Haaland does not have the same quality alongside him as the other Golden Boot contenders. The former Borussia Dortmund powerhouse made light of that, and the fact it was his World Cup debut, to score a brace against Iraq.

Both goals came in the first half of Norway’s 4-1 win. His first was a typical Haaland goal from inside the six-yard box. The second he made himself, closing down the keeper and bundling home. He had five attempts on goal in the game and found the target with four.

His build-up play is often criticised, but as a goalscorer, he is up there with the best ever. The expanded World Cup has given him the chance to shine, and he looks determined to take it. Tougher tests await in Group I, with Senegal next, followed by France. Norway should certainly qualify for the last 32, though, and Haaland will take any chances that come his way.

King Kane Caps Great Night for England

In Group L, England were one of the last teams to get their tournament underway. In theory, it was a tricky game against the highest-ranked pot-two side in the tournament. Croatia were ranked 11th by FIFA before the World Cup. Additionally, they qualified with seven wins and a draw from their eight games.

England beat them 4-2, however. The ever-reliable Kane got two more England goals, taking his tally to 81 from 115 matches. At the World Cup, he joined compatriot Gary Lineker in the all-time top 10. Kane has 10 goals in 12 games at the finals, and he will hope to move past Pele (12), Fontaine (13) and perhaps others in what may be his last World Cup.

Kane scored a penalty against Croatia, albeit at the second attempt. He also added a towering header from a corner. He wasn’t far away from completing a hat-trick, and with England more aggressive than under Gareth Southgate, the chances should keep coming for the skipper.