Messi Leads Golden Boot Race and FIFA Rankings Before World Cup Final

Lionel Messi is the top player for the adidas Golden Boot and has reached the first place in FIFA’s Creativity Power Rankings before Sunday’s 2026 World Cup final against Spain.

FIFA shared the updated rankings and Golden Boot standings on Thursday after the semi-finals wrapped up.

The captain of Argentina is leading the Golden Boot race with eight goals and four assists. He is ahead of France’s Kylian Mbappe, who also has eight goals but only three assists.

According to FIFA’s rules, assists are the first tiebreaker when players have the same number of goals.

Mbappe will get one last chance to boost his numbers in Saturday’s third-place match against England, while Messi will play against Spain.

Norway's Erling Haaland holds third place in the Golden Boot standings with seven goals, even though his team was knocked out in the quarter-finals. England’s Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane are tied for fourth place with six goals each.

Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal is the highest-ranked finalist after Messi, sitting in seventh place with five goals and one assist.

adidas Golden Boot standings

| Rank | Player | Country | Goals | Assists |
|------|------------------|-----------|-------|---------|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 8 | 4 |
| 2 | Kylian Mbappe | France | 8 | 3 |
| 3 | Erling Haaland | Norway | 7 | 0 |
| 4 | Jude Bellingham | England | 6 | 1 |
| 5 | Harry Kane | England | 6 | 1 |
| 6 | Ousmane Dembele | France | 5 | 2 |
| 7 | Mikel Oyarzabal | Spain | 5 | 1 |
| 8 | Ismaila Sarr | Senegal | 4 | 1 |
| 9 | Julian Quiñones | Mexico | 4 | 1 |
| 10 | Vinicius Junior | Brazil | 4 | 1 |
| 11 | Deniz Undav | Germany | 3 | 2 |
| 12 | Johan Manzambi | Switzerland| 3 | 2 |
| 13 | Romelu Lukaku | Belgium | 3 | 1 |
| 14 | Lautaro Martinez | Argentina | 3 | 1 |
| 15 | Charles De Ketelaere| Belgium | 3 | 1 |
| 16 | Cody Gakpo | Netherlands| 3 | 1 |
| 17 | Brian Brobbey | Netherlands| 3 | 0 |
| 18 | Elijah Just | New Zealand| 3 | 0 |
| 19 | Matheus Cunha | Brazil | 3 | 0 |
| 20 | Folarin Balogun | United States| 3 | 0 |

FIFA Power Rankings, Attacking

| Rank | Player | Rating |
|------|------------------|--------|
| 1 | Kylian Mbappe | 8.93 |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | 8.63 |
| 3 | Jude Bellingham | 8.22 |
| 4 | Erling Haaland | 7.74 |
| 5 | Charles De Ketelaere| 7.31 |
| 6 | Ousmane Dembele | 7.21 |
| 7 | Vinicius Junior | 7.17 |
| 8 | Johan Manzambi | 7.11 |
| 9 | Julian Quiñones | 7.05 |
| 10 | Harry Kane | 6.92 |

FIFA Power Rankings, Creativity

| Rank | Player | Rating |
|------|------------------|--------|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | 8.41 |
| 2 | Michael Olise | 8.23 |
| 3 | Jeremy Doku | 7.78 |
| 4 | Kylian Mbappe | 7.71 |
| 5 | Anthony Gordon | 7.67 |
| 6 | Lamine Yamal | 7.47 |
| 7 | Roberto Alvarado | 7.33 |
| 8 | Dani Olmo | 7.31 |
| 9 | Bukayo Saka | 7.29 |
| 10 | Morgan Rogers | 7.13 |

FIFA Power Rankings, Defending

| Rank | Player | Rating |
|------|------------------|--------|
| 1 | Rodri | 8.03 |
| 2 | Pedro Porro | 7.70 |
| 3 | Pau Cubarsi | 7.50 |
| 4 | Aurelien Tchouameni| 7.36 |
| 5 | Cristian Romero | 7.34 |
| 6 | Luc de Fougerolles| 7.33 |
| 7 | Dayot Upamecano | 7.29 |
| 8 | Aymeric Laporte | 7.29 |
| 9 | Davinson Sanchez | 7.14 |
| 10 | Chris Richards | 7.00 |

Portugal’s goalkeeper Diogo Costa kept his top spot in the “Defending the Goal” category. England’s Jordan Pickford is still leading the “In Possession” rankings ahead of Spain’s Unai Simon.