Goals in Third-Place Playoff Count Towards Golden Boot in FIFA World Cup 2026

Kathmandu. Goals scored by players in the third-place playoff match for the World Cup will also be counted towards their total goals and the race for the Golden Boot. This means that even if Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Harry Kane, and Jude Bellingham are eliminated from the semi-finals in the 2026 competition currently underway in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, they still have a chance to win the Golden Boot. All four are among the seven players who have scored five or more goals so far with the final two matches of the competition remaining. England and France will face each other for the third place next Sunday, and the final match between Spain and Argentina will be held the following day, Monday. Currently, Mbappé of France and Lionel Messi of Argentina are jointly at the top with eight goals each. However, Messi is technically ahead in the Golden Boot race because his assists (number of passes provided for goals) are one more than Mbappé's. Erling Haaland of Norway is third in the list with seven goals, but since his country was eliminated in the quarter-finals, he will not be able to add to his goal tally. Two England players, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, have six goals each, while France winger Ousmane Dembélé and Spain striker Mikel Oyarzabal have scored five goals each. How England and France field their teams in the third-place match on Saturday will play a significant role in determining the Golden Boot winner. In the 2018 World Cup, England's then-coach Gareth Southgate made five changes to the semi-final team when playing against Belgium for the same position. Then-Golden Boot winner Harry Kane played the initial game but could not score. In the history of the World Cup, seven Golden Boot winners have scored in the third-place playoff match so far. Of these, the goal in the third-place match was decisive for four players to win the award. Thomas Müller of Germany (2010), Davor Šuker of Croatia (1998), Salvatore Schillaci of Italy (1990), and Leonidas of Brazil (1938) won the Golden Boot with the help of goals scored in the third-place match. Similarly, Grzegorz Lato of Poland (1974), Portugal's legendary player Eusébio (1966), and Just Fontaine of France (1958) also won the award by scoring in the third-place match in the same year. However, they would have won the Golden Boot even if they had not scored in that match.