Lionel Messi roared to the top of the World Cup Golden Boot rankings with six goals in Argentina’s three group games, but FIFA’s official power rankings from the group stage only has him second among attackers.
Messi announced his arrival to the tournament in style, netting a stunning hat trick against Algeria before putting two past Austria and netting against Jordan to set a record for scoring in seven straight World Cup games.
Those performances earned Messi a score of 8.34 on FIFA’s attacking power rankings, comfortably clear of every other player in the group stage apart from one: Germany’s Deniz Undav.
Top Ten on FIFA’s Attacking Power Rankings
| Player | Nation | Score (Out of 10) |
|---|---|---|
| Deniz Undav | Germany | 8.36 |
| Lionel Messi | Argentina | 8.34 |
| Kylian Mbappé | France | 8.13 |
| Vinicius Junior | Brazil | 7.92 |
| Johan Manzambi | Switzerland | 7.57 |
| Ousmane Dembélé | France | 7.53 |
| Erling Haaland | Norway | 7.33 |
| Crysencio Summerville | Netherlands | 7.09 |
| Elijah Just | New Zealand | 7.09 |
| Ismael Saibari | Morocco | 7.08 |
How Deniz Undav Outshone Messi in World Cup Group Stage
When it comes to the race for this summer’s Golden Ball—the award given to the best player at the tournament—there can be no denying that Messi is comfortably the early favorite. Inter Miami’s superstar could even end up with the Golden Boot as well if he continues his current trajectory.
His performances in the group stage were outstanding. Finding faults in Messi’s game is difficult, but there is one area in which Undav has his number this summer, and that’s ruthless efficiency.
Undav has not even started a game at this tournament. His three appearances for Germany have all come off the bench and do not even add up to 90 minutes combined, yet he already has three goals and two assists.
The 7–1 victory over Curaçao was particularly fruitful for Undav, whose 26-minute cameo yielded one goal and two assists.
As a result, Undav is averaging one goal every 28.7 minutes at the World Cup, with one goal contribution every 17.2 minutes. Objectively, those are outstanding numbers before any sort of context is applied.
How Undav Compares to Messi at 2026 World Cup
| Statistic | Deniz Undav | Lionel Messi |
|---|---|---|
| Appearances | 3 | 3 |
| Minutes | 86 | 200 |
| Goals | 3 | 6 |
| Assists | 2 | 0 |
“I accept the role,” Undav said recently when asked about his lack of starts this summer. “If I weren’t happy, if I wasn’t content, I wouldn’t be here.”
All eyes will be on Germany’s starting lineup for Monday’s meeting with Paraguay in the round of 32. Arsenal’s Kai Havertz has been the preferred starter thus far but has not added to his two-goal haul against Curaçao, sparking questions about a possible start for Undav, who was surprisingly benched for the defeat to Ecuador in the final group game.
“We all say that Deniz really would deserve to be in the starting lineup, but we have an idea and we talked about it with Deniz and other players and we will do the rotations that are necessary,” Nagelsmann said before the Ecuador clash.
Messi, meanwhile, has no such concerns about his role. Rested against Jordan last week, the 39-year-old will be the first name on the team sheet and will hope to add to his goal tally when Argentina faces underdog Cabo Verde in the round of 32 on Friday.
