Lionel Messi leads the top World Cup goal scorers race with five goals from two games after a double against Austria in Argentina's 2-0 win. Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland sit one behind on four goals apiece, keeping the Golden Boot chase tight at the top.
It is the first World Cup since 1954, and only the second tournament in history, where three players have scored four or more times after two matches. That pace has put Just Fontaine's 13-goal tournament mark back into view, even with plenty of football still ahead.
Messi, Mbappe and Haaland
Messi's five-goal total gives him the edge, but the gap is still small enough for one match to change the order. Mbappe scored a double in France's win, and Haaland matched that with two goals in Norway's victory, so the race has already split into a three-man chase at the top.
The numbers also change the record chase. Messi is now on 18 all-time World Cup goals, while Mbappe has drawn level with Miroslav Klose on 16. Klose began the tournament as the all-time leader on 16, but Messi has moved past him and Mbappe has caught him.
Harry Kane and England
Harry Kane enters the picture with two goals for England and a direct target in front of him. One more goal against Ghana on Tuesday evening would move him past Gary Lineker as England's top World Cup scorer, and it would lift him into the four-goal group alongside Messi, Mbappe and Haaland.
That is why the race has so much weight beyond the current leaderboard. Only three players in World Cup history have reached double figures in a single tournament: Just Fontaine, Gerd Muller and Sandor Kocsis, and all four contenders are now tracking toward that level if the scoring keeps up.
Just Fontaine's 13-goal mark
The sharper question now is whether anyone can actually threaten Fontaine's 13-goal record in this tournament. Messi would need eight more, while Mbappe, Haaland and Kane would need nine from here, which leaves the barrier high even after the opening burst of goals.
The chase is still live because the early scoring has been so fast. Messi holds the lead, Mbappe and Haaland are within one, Kane is one goal from a national record, and the next round of matches will decide whether the race stays crowded or starts to separate.
