The chase for the coveted World Cup Golden Boot intensifies as FIFA confirms that strikes netted in the tournament's third-place play-off will indeed contribute to a player's overall tally. This ruling, reported by BBC Sport journalist Jonty Colman, means that several high-profile attackers still have a crucial opportunity to claim the prestigious individual accolade at the 2026 tournament, hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Despite France and England's exits in the semi-finals, stars like Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Harry Kane, and Jude Bellingham remain firmly in the hunt. As the tournament heads into its final two matches, this quartet are among the seven players who have already scored five or more goals.
The stage is set for a compelling weekend of football. England and France are scheduled to face each other in the third-place play-off on Saturday, a day before Spain takes on Argentina in the grand final.
Currently, France's Kylian Mbappe and Argentina's Lionel Messi stand joint-top with eight goals each. However, Messi holds the advantage in the race due to possessing one more assist at the tournament so far. Norway's Erling Haaland sits just behind with seven goals, but his opportunity to add to that count concluded with his nation's quarter-final exit. England duo Bellingham and Kane both boast six goals apiece, while French winger Dembele and Spain striker Mikel Oyarzabal have each registered five.
The tactical decisions made by both England and France regarding their line-ups for Saturday's third-place play-off could prove pivotal in this dramatic scoring duel. In 2018, when England faced Belgium in the same match, then-Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate made five changes from the team that had fallen to Croatia in the semi-finals. While tournament Golden Boot winner Kane did start that match, he did not find the net.
Historically, the third-place encounter has been a significant stage for Golden Boot aspirants. A total of seven previous World Cup Golden Boot winners have scored goals in this match. Notably, four of those seven required their goals scored in that specific game to ultimately clinch the award: Germany's Thomas Muller (2010), Croatia's Davor Suker (1998), Italy's Salvatore Schillaci (1990), and Brazil's Leonidas (1938). Other legendary figures who scored in the third-place play-off in their winning years include Poland's Grzegorz Lato (1974), Portugal great Eusebio (1966), and France's Just Fontaine (1958), though they would have secured the award irrespective of those particular goals.