The Economic Times

Mbapp, Messi, Haaland and Kane have turned the 2026 World Cup into the greatest Golden Boot race the tournament has ever seen

This World Cup has also highlighted how rare truly prolific goalscorers have become. Since the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, when Gerd Mller scored 10 goals for West Germany, only two players have managed to score more than seven goals in a single edition. Ronaldo Nazario, one of the great centre forwards in history, amassed eight goals in 2002 to inspire Brazil to lift the trophy, and Kylian Mbapp matched the tally in 2022, though France fell short in the final against Argentina.