Messi, Haaland, Mbappe headline 'epic' Golden Boot
Joe Prince-Wright, Nick Mendola, and Andy Edwards discuss the race for the Golden Boot as the likes of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland continue to score at a torrid pace to kickoff the 2026 World Cup.
Video Transcript
Okay, Nick and Andy, the stars are definitely shining at this 2026 World Cup so far this summer.
There's a huge race for the Golden Boot, and all of the big names are out there, Nick Mandola.
We got Messi on five goals so far, Mbappe and Haaland on four.
Ronaldo's getting in on the act.
We've got Harry Kane floating around.
I mean, this is pretty epic, right?
When we talked about the World Cup being a huge event, you need the big names to s- to really show up and dazzle and, you know, create big moments and memories, and that's what they're doing so far.
So how much have you enjoyed, seeing all these guys, going for the Golden Boot early on?
I have.
I love the sort of, I don't know, s- not cementing their greatness.
We know these players are great, but I, I love the sort of duration of it.
We have this problem as a s- a sports society where we, we Things are generational, right?
We can't really compare Pele to Lionel Messi.
But when we see Lionel Messi being as good as he is now, it gives us that moment that's like, "All right, I've been watching this guy do this for 16 to 20 years.
He's legit, like, of the very best to ever do it."
and, and same thing for Ronaldo.
You know, when we have the kind of boring and tired Messi versus Ronaldo debate, I think I worry that people think I think Ronaldo stinks or something.
No, he's, he's one of the greatest to ever do it.
I just think that Messi is the greatest.
Anyways, I think to see all these guys contributing, realizing the, the different ways in which they've done it and the different eras, right?
There have been times that Ronaldo was great, but Portugal wasn't.
Now, Portugal is great and Ronaldo is reaping the rewards.
So it's, it's nice to watch it through this historical lens, you know?
Yeah, Andy, it's great, right?
I mean, in terms of th- this World Cup feels like it's almost the World Cup of the striker.
and then it's- Yeah yeah .
It's gonna be interesting in terms of who wins the Golden Boot.
I know that, it, it's a big deal, but obviously players would much rather just win the tournament and- Yeah and win the World Cup.
But, who do you think kinda has the best chance here in terms of doing it?
Because I guess with Messi, Ronaldo, those They may sit on the bench for some minutes, we think, at some point and get rested.
Mm-hmm.
but then Haaland and Mbappe, looks like they're gonna be out there for the most part, and they've got, you know In ter- in terms of Mbappe, he's got an incredible, attacking cast around him just- Yeah laying chances on a plate for him.
So I guess if I personally had to choose someone who's probably gonna win it, it would probably be Mbappe.
But, yeah, there's a lot of, like, variables that go into this kind of award.
Yeah, he probably makes the most sense from all the different logic standpoints, but you expect Messi will be in the tournament about as long a- as he will as well.
But, but the age thing- Sure maybe he does get, a little bit of a rest there.
So Mbappe probably makes the most sense.
I, I'm just sitting here as Nick's talking and, and I'm thinking about past tournaments and, and there's always a, you know, a surprise name that pops up at the top of the, the goal scoring list.
And, and I, I miss the, the time of Diego Forlan in 2010 when, when, you know, nobody expected him to, to, to be the breakout star of that World Cup.
is maybe Denis Undav gonna be that one this, this time around- Mm-hmm for Germany?
Because, that has been a position for a couple tournaments now for, for, for Germany that they have not had a reliable goal scorer.
He's got three, in, in his first two games for them, and, and a team that ha- has a ton of talent, all over the field, and they just need somebody to benefit from it up top, and he so far has been that one.
Maybe he can grab a couple more to kinda round out the group stage and pick up some mo- some momentum going into the knockouts.
Yeah.
And Nick, I mean, Jonathan David for Canada has three.
obviously Flo Balogun's looking really good for the USA, has a couple.
yeah, again, Harry Kane, I mentioned it, obviously missed, that big chance for England against Ghana but is, is looking sharp and fitter than he ever has done.
So there's a lot, lot of people involved in this race.
Who do you fancy, to kinda, you know, be the star and, and score the most goals?
it's difficult to go against Mbappe just because he loves to shoot and the quality of chances coming his way.
He could have had five in the last game.
Yeah.
And so again, we, we go through that historical lens and it's a bit like, all right, yeah, you're gonna break this record at some point.
But now let's extrapolate and, and, and talk about somebody who's trying to get to a third final in three years.
It's just, You know, we, we, we do this in the NFL with quarterbacks when somebody shoots out of the gate and puts up these crazy numbers.
But Mbappe, this is going on over a long period of time, and maybe we just forgot because of how he was sort of willing PSG forward and then they win the Champions League without him, and Real Madrid was a dysfunctional mess this year.
Turns out the guy who was a phenom at 18 and scores every other game is still very, very good and I just, I wouldn't bet against him.
Although the third game of the group coming against Norway could be a little cagier than we expect, and will, will that knock them down a peg while someone else waltzes away against inferior competition?
Oh, yeah, I'll, I'll be in Boston for that game, Norway against France, so I'll be fully on board.
Not jealous at all.
Yeah.
Not jealous.
Golden Boot watch, right?
It's, Mbappe against Haaland, basically, and then with other, other players on the pitch.
But it'll be, it'll be really fun to see those two and the contrasting styles of those team, contrasting styles of those strikers.
But I mean, it's kind of the story of this tournament, right, Andy?
Like, it's the tournament of the strikers, and there's so many tight games.
And now we've seen, you know, countries from all over the world, at this tournament being so well organized, limiting chances, just hanging in games that those top players, that we've mentioned here that scored a lot of goals, it really seems like having one of those on your team is gonna be the difference at this tournament in going far, because they can just have that moment of quality or magic or just persistence and, and just experience of getting in the right moment at the right time to finish off chances, and that's what is gonna take you all the way in this tournament.
Yeah, we, we've certainly come out of the dark age of tournament football, haven't we?
It wasn't the best for a period of time there.
It was defensive, and we're gonna be smart, and we're not gonna get beaten.
we're gonna stay in this as long as we possibly can, was kind of the mindset, I think, from a lot of, not just the, the smaller teams, but some of the bigger teams as well.
Yeah, you're right.
And yeah, and there was talent that was not being utilized the way that it is now.
And so, just credit to football, I think, all the way around- for, for the coaches and the players for saying, "Hey, this is an incredible moment."
This has been an incredible tournament so far.
I think we're just under three goals per game, af- Wow after two rounds of group stage games, which is really, really good value and entertainment.
and, and yeah, it, it, it sets it up perfectly as well going into the knockouts because the stars have already done it.
They've already put their mark down.
and they've already shown ki- I, I guess to one another as well that the gauntlet has been laid.
A- and so the knockouts of this tournament, as good as two rounds of group stage games have been, I have to keep reminding myself that we have still so much more to go in the really meaningful part of this tournament.
It should be even better.
And Joe, I think, a- and Andy, I think they're both, There's just no question, I think analytical people will be like, "Oh, everybody wants to do great in every game."
But when you see the other big guys scoring, you don't wanna be the big guy that doesn't.
And, um- Sure credit to I don't know how it's gonna look as these final group games go down.
I do think there's gonna be a lot of discussions about the format after the tournament as some things come up that maybe we didn't see coming.
But I will say this, right now there is not a team that thinks, "All right.
Well, I've taken care of the team we played first and the team we played..." 'Cause now you're worried about the eight other third placed, third place teams.
So you're thinking- "Wow, goal differential.
It's not just me against this other team that I might run into, it's me against the, the other third place teams from the tournament."
And so maybe that has helped the impetus to keep going and not hold onto a one-nothing lead.
Yeah, I think in the knockout rounds as well, a lot of these bigger nations we've discussed, be it England, France, even Spain, I think, aren't great at the back.
So like, there, there's gonna be a lot of open games in terms of, hey, our best chance of going through here is to actually go for it.
And, yeah, I don't think we're gonna see a lot of cagey games in the knockout rounds.
I think if, if you look at England against Croatia, for example, two good teams, but, that was a game where it was back and forth.
and again, going to the England game this week, it was, really quite clear that defensively there are big, big issues there.
But, in a game where it's open, say if they were to come up against, France in the knockout rounds, then yeah, I think that would be one heck of a game, and there'll be plenty of goals scored.
And the likes of, Mbappe and Kane will be licking their chops at some of the gaps that are opening up.
And, should be quite the spectacle.
And of course, I wanted to mention as well, Messi and Mbappe are both right up there with the all-time leading World cup goal scorers.
Now, Messi is, Mbappe's right, breathing down his neck.
So that is an added little, battle here, not just for the golden boot, at this tournament, but the all-time charts.
Andy, you're smiling at that.
Yeah.
May- maybe we can run back the final from 2022.
We can get them both level on goals heading into the final, and then say, "Here, we'll settle the trophy and we'll settle the record."
Obviously, Mbappe's got a long time to go, but, but that, that would set the stage nicely, I think.
It really would, wouldn't it?
can't wait for this, the group stage, finales here.
Gonna be, really fun to see who kind of separates themselves in the scoring charts.
Then the knockout rounds as well is coming up.
It's one heck of a journey, just about halfway through almost this World Cup.
But, can't wait, for what's to come.
So head over to Pro Soccer Talk on NBCSports.com to see if these stars can keep on dazzling and scoring plenty of goals.
We can't wait to watch it.
It's gonna be so much fun.
