What happens if the World Cup Golden Boot is tied? FIFA rules explained
France’s World Cup dream came to an end with their semi-final defeat to Spain, but Kylian Mbappé’s race for the Golden Boot and the all-time record is far from over.
The race for the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot remains as open as ever, with just three matches remaining in the tournament. After France’s elimination to Spain in the first World Cup semi-final on Tuesday, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé are tied on 8 goals at the top of the scoring charts, but FIFA’s rules have a way of determining one sole winner even if two or more players finish the tournament on the same tally.
With France now unable to win the World Cup, many fans assume Mbappé can no longer add to his tally, and that one more goal for Messi would not only clinch the Golden Boot but also preserve his position at the top of the all-time World Cup scorer chart for at least another four years. Yet in reality, neither is true.
Not only can Mbappé still win the Golden Boot, but he will also have another opportunity to add to his tally in France’s third-place play-off later this week.
Has the World Cup Golden Boot ever been shared?
Yes. The World Cup Golden Boot has previously been shared on two occasions: in the 1962 and 1994 editions of the tournament.
In 1962, six players shared the award with just four goals each: Garrincha (Brazil), Vavá (Brazil), Leonel Sánchez (Chile), Flórián Albert (Hungary), Valentin Ivanov (Soviet Union), and Dražan Jerković (Yugoslavia).
In 1994, Russia’s Oleg Salenko and Bulgaria’s Hristo Stoichkov shared the award after both scored six goals. Salenko famously scored five of his goals in a single group-stage match against Cameroon. And because they also finished level on assists, with one each, the award could not be split.
But new rules have since changed that 1994 tournament.
What happens if the World Cup Golden Boot is tied?
The Golden Boot is awarded to the player who scores the most goals during the tournament. However, if two or more players finish level on goals, since 1994 FIFA applies a series of tiebreakers to determine the winner.
The first tiebreaker is assists. If players are tied on goals, the award goes to the player who has provided the most assists during the tournament. That means creating goals for teammates can prove just as valuable as scoring them when the race is exceptionally close.
If players are still level after goals and assists have been compared, FIFA moves to a second tiebreaker: fewest minutes played.
This effectively rewards the player who reached their goal tally in less time on the pitch. A player who scores eight goals in 600 minutes, for example, would rank ahead of someone who also scored eight but required 700 minutes to do so.
Only if players remain level on goals, assists and minutes played is the Golden Boot shared between them.
As things stand, Mbappé has eight goals and three assists, while Messi has eight goals and two assists. That means the French forward currently holds the advantage if neither player scores again.
Can Kylian Mbappé still break the all-time World Cup goalscoring record in 2026?
Yes. Despite France losing the semi-final against Spain, Kylian Mbappé can still break the all-time World Cup goalscoring record in the 2026 tournament.
This is because France still have one more watch to play in the form of the third-place playoff on Saturday, July 18, against the loser of the England vs Argentina semi-final.
Prior to the 2026 tournament, Miroslav Klose of Germany led the all-time World Cup scoring chart with 16 goals, but that has been broken by two current players: Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé.
Messi is currently the World Cup’s all time top goalscorer with 21 goals, while Mbappé is on 20. France’s elimination has led many to believe that Messi will now hold the record for at least another four years, but Les Blues have one extra match in which the Real Madrid striker will be desperate to play in order to break the all-time record and fight for the Golden Boot.
