Mbappé vs Messi race heats up! Bookmakers pick new favorite for 2026 World Cup Golden Boot
Raphael Durand
Dailysports's expert
Kylian Mbappé has surged up the bookmaker odds in the race for the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot after a scintillating performance against Sweden.
Details: The French forward netted a brace in the Round of 16 clash, helping his team to a convincing 3-0 victory and bringing his tournament tally to 6 goals.
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Mbappé has now drawn level with Lionel Messi in the tournament’s scoring charts, overtaking Erling Haaland, who remains on 5 goals.
After the group stage, Mbappé’s odds to win the Golden Boot stood at 3.80, but following his double against Sweden, the bookies’ numbers shifted dramatically. Kylian now leads the pack as the clear favorite at 2.00.
Messi follows closely behind with odds of 2.50. The rest of the contenders trail by a considerable margin: Haaland is at 13.00, Harry Kane at 17.00, and Ousmane Dembélé at 20.00.
The top list also features Vinícius Júnior at 30.00 and Cristiano Ronaldo at 50.00. All other players are priced at 60.00 or higher.
The bookmakers’ favorites for 2026 World Cup top scorer:
- Kylian Mbappé — 2.00
- Lionel Messi — 2.50
- Erling Haaland — 13.00
- Harry Kane — 17.00
- Ousmane Dembélé — 20.00
- Vinícius Júnior — 30.00
- Cristiano Ronaldo — 50.00
Reminder: Earlier, Mbappé bagged a brace against Sweden to become the first footballer in World Cup history to achieve seven braces at the tournament.
