For all the countless individual awards Lionel Messi has collected across his seasoned career, the World Cup Golden Boot, given to the the tournament's top goal-scorer, still evades him. It looked like the 2026 World Cup would finally be the one, but Messi now faces an uphill battle to win the award.
Messi has been simply remarkable during the 2026 World Cup. At 39 years old, in his record-sixth World Cup, he is the main reason why Argentina reached back-to-back finals, contributing eight goals and four assists so far—already career highs in a single World Cup.