Two things have undoubtedly been true this summer: the superstars are shining, and the Golden Boot odds seem to be changing every minute.
Prior to Portugal's match against Uzbekistan, Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to be the only global superstar yet to make a significant impact at the tournament.
But that all changed on Tuesday.
Ronaldo scored two goals in the 5-0 win, becoming the second-oldest player to score in a World Cup and just the second 40-year-old to do so.
He also became the oldest player to record a brace in a World Cup match and is now Portugal's all-time leader in World Cup goals at 10.
Ronaldo jumped up the oddsboard from +5500 to +1800 after his brace.
But while Ronaldo finally announced his arrival, the race for the Golden Boot remained dominated by the same trio that had headlined the World Cup through its opening two weeks.
Just as they did on matchday 1, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland stole the spotlight again on Monday, combining for six more goals.
Messi struck first, setting the all-time men's World Cup goals record in the first half of Argentina's match against Austria.
He then added another goal in extra time at game's end, giving him 18 World Cup goals all time (passing Marta) and five through two 2026 World Cup games.
A few hours later, Mbappé responded with two goals of his own.
The French superstar now has 16 career World Cup goals, tying Miroslav Klose for the second-most in men’s World Cup history.
If that wasn't enough, Haaland added two more goals of his own in Norway's 3-2 win over Senegal to tighten the race even further.
Messi now has the most goals this tournament with five, Mbappé and Haaland are tied for second with four, Canada's Jonathan David and Germany's Deniz Undav have three, and a host of other stars — Ronaldo, Harry Kane, Vinícius Jr., Mikel Oyarzabal and Kai Havertz — have two.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot race is already shaping up to be historic.
Let's dive into the updated odds at FanDuel Sportsbook as of June 23.
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Golden Boot Winner 2026 Lionel Messi: +180 (bet $10 to win $28 total)Kylian Mbappé: +200 (bet $10 to win $30 total)Harry Kane: +650 (bet $10 to win $75 total)Erling Haaland: +1100 (bet $10 to win $120 total)Cristiano Ronaldo: +1800 (bet $10 to win $190 total)Mikel Oyarzabal: +2500 (bet $10 to win $260 total)Deniz Undav: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)Lamine Yamal: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)Vinícius Júnior: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)Johan Manzambi: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)Kai Havertz: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)Matheus Cunha: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)Ayase Ueda +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)Jonathan David: +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total)Folarin Balogun: +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total)Cody Gakpo: +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total) Here's what to know about this oddsboard: The Favorite(s): Recognize those two names atop the board?
In Argentina's opener against Algeria, with his first career World Cup hat trick, Messi tied Miroslav Klose for the most goals in men's World Cup history with 16, while also setting the record as the oldest player (38) to record a hat trick, passing Cristiano Ronaldo.
Then, in Argentina's second game against Austria, Messi scored late in the first half to pass Klose for the record, and scored once more late in the contest to put some space between himself and Klose.
Mbappé entered the tournament as the Golden Boot favorite.
The French superstar scored twice in his World Cup opener, as he became France's new all-time leader in goals with 58.
Then, in his second World Cup match just hours after Messi pulled away, Mbappé added two more goals in France's 3-0 win over Iraq.
He won the Golden Boot at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and is looking to become the first player in history to win two World Cup Golden Boot awards.
The back-and-forth between two of the greatest players in the history of the sport is shaping up to make this a historic summer, with records likely to be broken and traded every time these two superstars step onto the pitch.
Sources: Fox Sports
