VOTE: Harry Kane or Kylian Mbappe on penalties? Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo's free kicks? Who is better with both feet? World Cup forwards rated
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Updated 01/07/2026 at 15:03 GMT+1
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The world’s best strikers are continuing to shine at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the race for the Golden Boot almost as intriguing as the hunt for the trophy itself, and heating up as the tournament goes on.
Messi Mbappe Kane
Image credit: Getty Images
FIFA's decision to expand the tournament has naturally led to more matches, and consequently, more opportunities for attacking players to shine, as well as improve on their existing records.
At the time of writing, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi lead the way with six goals after four games and three games respectively, which was the total any player managed across the entire tournament to win the award in 10 of 11 World Cups between 1978 and 2018.
Messi also broke the all-time record for goals at the tournament during the group stage with his brace against Austria - following a hat-trick against Algeria - taking him to 18, passing the previous record of 16 held by Miroslav Klose, and adding another to his tally in Argentina’s win over Jordan.
Mbappe himself also passed the German’s record and, after striking twice against Sweden, is currently one goal behind Messi on 18.
Harry Kane is further back on 11 but became England’s all-time World Cup top scorer with his third goal of this tournament in the 2-0 win over Panama, taking him past Gary Lineker’s 10.
Cristiano Ronaldo became the first man to score in six World Cups when he scored twice for Portugal against Uzbekistan, while Erling Haaland already has five goals in his first tournament appearance.
Vinicius Junior has been Brazil’s shining light with four strikes to date, while Ballon d’Or holder Ousmane Dembele has the same total, helped by a hat-trick against Norway.
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All these players have different strengths and skill-sets, providing different weapons and specialities when it comes to all the wonderful ways to score a goal.
With each one still hoping to make an impact in North America, we put it to you to decide who you would pick in each scenario. Get voting!
Penalties
From 12 yards, all of these players have shown themselves to be fairly reliable, but at World Cups, Harry Kane has proven especially lethal, with five goals from the spot despite a miss against France in the 2022 quarter-final.
Lionel Messi missed his spot-kick against Austria but still has four successful conversions to date since his 2006 tournament debut.
| Total World Cup goals | Penalties | |
| Lionel Messi | 19 | 4 |
| Kylian Mbappe | 18 | 2 |
| Harry Kane | 11 | 5 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 10 | 3 |
| Erling Haaland | 5 | 0 |
| Vinicius Junior | 5 | 0 |
| Ousmane Dembele | 4 | 0 |
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England's Harry Kane takes a penalty against Croatia
Image credit: Getty Images
Direct free kicks
Messi put the seal on Argentina’s victory over Jordan with a free kick after coming off the bench – his second at a World Cup and first since 2014 against Nigeria.
Of the players on this list, only Messi’s long-time rival Ronaldo has scored a tournament free kick, memorably equalising for Portugal in the dying minutes of a dramatic 3-3 draw against Spain in Brazil in 2018.
| Direct free kicks scored at World Cups | |
| Lionel Messi | 2 |
| Kylian Mbappe | 0 |
| Harry Kane | 0 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 1 |
| Erling Haaland | 0 |
| Vinicius Junior | 0 |
| Ousmane Dembele | 0 |
Headers
Kane leads the way with three headed goals at World Cups, including his most recent effort against Panama.
Ronaldo and Mbappe also have headed goals at the tournament, as does Vinicius Jr, who nodded home against Scotland.
| Headers scored at World Cups | |
| Lionel Messi | 0 |
| Kylian Mbappe | 1 |
| Harry Kane | 3 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 1 |
| Erling Haaland | 0 |
| Vinicius Junior | 1 |
| Ousmane Dembele | 0 |
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Vinicius Junior scores a header for Brazil against Scotland
Image credit: Getty Images
Fox in the box
Haaland scuffed his winner against Cote d’Ivoire from close range to make five from five inside the penalty area.
Vinicius Jr has also scored all his World Cup goals from inside the box, as has Harry Kane.
Dribbling
Vinicius opened his account for the tournament with a delightful strike against Morocco after turning his defender inside out with some excellent, fleet-footed trickery.
Similarly, Dembele’s first goal of his hat-trick against Norway demonstrated his ability with the ball as much as his finishing.
Messi wrapped up victory against Austria with a solo run that has been almost a trademark of his career.
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Long-range shots
Kylian Mbappe rifled in a screamer against Senegal from range in France’s opening win of the tournament, while team-mate Dembele and Messi have also been lethal from outside the penalty area in the tournament.
| Goals scored from outside the box at World Cups | |
| Lionel Messi | 6 |
| Kylian Mbappe | 3 |
| Harry Kane | 0 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 2 |
| Erling Haaland | 0 |
| Vinicius Junior | 0 |
| Ousmane Dembele | 1 |
Weaker foot
Of Haaland’s five strikes so far, three have been with his left foot and two with his right.
Dembele has a 50-50 split with two goals on each foot while even Messi, known for his incredible left foot, has scored four of his 19 World Cup goals with his supposed ‘weaker’ foot.
| Right-foot goals scored at World Cups | Left-foot goals scored at World Cups | |
| Lionel Messi | 4 | 15 |
| Kylian Mbappe | 15 | 2 |
| Harry Kane | 8 | 0 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 7 | 2 |
| Erling Haaland | 2 | 3 |
| Vinicius Junior | 4 | 0 |
| Ousmane Dembele | 2 | 2 |
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