Third-place play-off goals count toward World Cup Golden Boot
Short overview
Goals scored in the World Cup third-place play-off count toward the Golden Boot race. With France and England in the match, players like Mbappé, Kane, Bellingham, and Dembélé can still win the award.
Goals scored in the World Cup's third-place play-off count toward a player's total and the race for the Golden Boot. This means that Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Harry Kane, and Jude Bellingham can still win the award at the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, despite France and England exiting in the semi-finals.
Current standings
Heading into the final two matches, the quartet are among seven players who have scored five or more goals. England and France face each other in the third-place play-off on Saturday, followed by the final between Spain and Argentina on Sunday.
Mbappé is joint-top with Lionel Messi, both on eight goals. However, Messi leads the race due to having one more assist. Norway's Erling Haaland is next with seven goals, but he cannot add to his tally after his country's quarter-final exit. England duo Bellingham and Kane each have six goals, while France winger Dembélé and Spain striker Mikel Oyarzabal have five apiece.
Historical precedent
The Golden Boot race could be decided by how strong a side England and France field for the third-place play-off. When England faced Belgium in the same match in 2018, then-manager Gareth Southgate made five changes from the team that lost to Croatia in the semi-finals. Tournament Golden Boot winner Kane started but did not score.
A total of seven previous World Cup Golden Boot winners have scored in the third-place play-off. Four of those seven needed those goals to win the award: Germany's Thomas Müller (2010), Croatia's Davor Šuker (1998), Italy's Salvatore Schillaci (1990), and Leonidas of Brazil (1938). Grzegorz Lato of Poland (1974), Portugal's Eusébio (1966), and France's Just Fontaine (1958) also scored in the play-off but would have won regardless.
Top scorers at 2026 World Cup
- Lionel Messi (Argentina) and Kylian Mbappé (France) – 8
- Erling Haaland (Norway) – 7
- Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane (both England) – 6
- Ousmane Dembélé (France) and Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) – 5
Every player to win Golden Boot after scoring in third-place play-off
- 2010 – Thomas Müller (Germany)
- 1998 – Davor Šuker (Croatia)
- 1990 – Salvatore Schillaci (Italy)
- 1974 – Grzegorz Lato (Poland) (would have won without play-off)
- 1966 – Eusébio (Portugal) (would have won without play-off)
- 1958 – Just Fontaine (France) (would have won without play-off)
- 1938 – Leonidas (Brazil)
This article is from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.
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