Yes, goals scored in the nations’ semi-final exits.
The quartet will have one final chance to boost their tallies when England and France meet in the third-place play-off on Saturday. A day later, Argentina into the final against Spain.
Current Golden Boot standings
Heading into the tournament’s last two matches, seven players have hit five or more goals:
- Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 8 goals
- Kylian Mbappe (France) – 8 goals
- Erling Haaland (Norway) – 7 goals
- Harry Kane (England) – 6 goals
- Jude Bellingham (England) – 6 goals
- Ousmane Dembele (France) – 5 goals
- Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) – 5 goals
Messi currently holds the tiebreaker over Mbappe courtesy of one more assist, while Haaland cannot add to his tally after Norway were eliminated in the quarter-finals.
Third-place play-off history in the Golden Boot race
Seven previous Golden Boot winners have scored in the third-place play-off, with four of them relying on those goals to secure the award:
- Thomas Muller (Germany, 2010)
- Davor Suker (Croatia, 1998)
- Salvatore Schillaci (Italy, 1990)
- Leonidas (Brazil, 1938)
Others, including Just Fontaine (1958), Eusebio (1966) and Grzegorz Lato (1974), scored in the game but would have won regardless.
At the 2018 tournament, Harry Kane started the third-place play-off against Belgium but failed to score, nonetheless finishing as top scorer. Now he and Bellingham will need a big performance to overtake the leaders.
With Mbappe just one goal behind Messi in the tiebreaker, a strong French display on Saturday could yet see him snatch the Golden Boot.
