The Messi World Cup story has taken on a rare twist, with Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland all level on seven goals in the race for the Golden Boot. It is a striking position in tournament football, especially with different paths still available to add to those totals.
Messi’s standing is even more notable because he is not simply chasing the lead in the scoring chart. The Argentina forward already has 20 World Cup goals and 124 goals for Argentina, underlining how much of his legacy is tied to the biggest stage in international football.
He has also scored in eight consecutive World Cup matches, a run that speaks to both consistency and control at 39 years old. In a tournament where finishing chances matters more than reputation, that kind of record keeps him firmly in the conversation.
The chase for the World Cup record
The single-tournament record still belongs to Just Fontaine, who scored 13 goals in six games at the 1958 World Cup. Gerd Muller reached 10 goals in 1970, which shows how difficult it is to stay hot long enough to challenge the top mark.
That is why the current race feels so unusual. Messi, Mbappe and Haaland are all on seven, but they do not all have the same number of matches left to play. That difference could matter as the tournament moves toward its decisive rounds.
What happens next?
On Tuesday, Argentina were scheduled to play Egypt in the round of 16, giving Messi another chance to extend his tally. Haaland, meanwhile, scored twice to eliminate Brazil and send Norway into the quarter-finals, keeping him right in the middle of the Golden Boot conversation.
With three elite finishers locked together, the picture is simple but compelling: the goals are level for now, but the route to the finish line is not. That is what makes this Messi World Cup chase one of the tournament’s most intriguing subplots.
