Right from the off, it has been clear that this World Cup was going to produce an epic battle for the Golden Boot, awarded to the tournament’s top goalscorer. In the first phase of games, Lionel Messi netted a hat-trick, while Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland all scored braces.
That incredible quartet have barely stopped scoring since. Ahead of England’s quarter-final clash with Norway and Switzerland’s game with Argentina, Messi and Mbappé both have eight goals, Haaland has seven and Kane has six. The race for the Golden Boot is a thriller and at times has almost overshadowed the tournament itself.
Who will win remains to be seen, as will just how many goals are required, with there even being a chance that Just Fontaine’s incredible single-tournament record of 13 goals could be broken. If Norway prevail against England, Haaland will have a great chance of taking the prize, but has a player from the English top flight ever won the World Cup Golden Boot before?
Kane Wins in 2018
| Goal No. | Date | Round | Opponent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18th June | Group | Tunisia | 11′ |
| 2 | 18th June | Group | Tunisia | 90+1′ |
| 3 | 24th June | Group | Panama | 22′ (pen) |
| 4 | 24th June | Group | Panama | 45+1′ (pen) |
| 5 | 24th June | Group | Panama | 62′ |
| 6 | 3rd July | R16 | Colombia | 57′ (pen) |
Haaland would not become the first Premier League player to land this award if he wins, with Kane having done so eight years ago. In Russia, the then-Spurs man netted six goals to take the Golden Ball, ahead of Antoine Griezmann and Romelu Lukaku, who took silver and bronze respectively with four apiece.
Perhaps surprisingly, no footballer has ever won this award more than once, so Kane could make history if he sees off the other three titans. That said, Mbappé won in 2022, so he will also be eyeing up a place in the record books.
Despite turning 33 shortly after the final in 2026, Kane is now undoubtedly a better player than he was back in 2018. He is more intelligent, has developed his leadership skills, and now boasts a more varied game. His stats with Bayern, whom he joined in 2023, are genuinely astounding, with the former Leyton Orient loanee netting 146 goals in 147 games for the German giants.
At the Russia World Cup, Kane netted twice against Tunisia in the group stage, helping the Three Lions to a 2-1 win in their opener. He then got a hat-trick against Panama, although two of those were penalties, England running riot in a 6-1 win. His only other goal came in the last-16 tie with Colombia and was again from the spot. That three of his goals were penalties perhaps takes a little of the shine off his achievement, and in truth, the Leystonstone lad was not at his very best in Russia, despite claiming gold.
Gary Lineker Lands Move to Barca on Back of ’86 Heroics
| Goal Number | Date | Round | Opponent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11th June | Group | Poland | 8′ |
| 2 | 11th June | Group | Poland | 14′ |
| 3 | 11th June | Group | Poland | 36′ |
| 4 | 18th June | R16 | Paraguay | 31′ |
| 5 | 18th June | R16 | Paraguay | 73′ |
| 6 | 22nd June | Quarter-Finals | Argentina | 81′ |
Until Kane blew all competition away by scoring 85 England goals (and counting), Lineker was in the running for the title of England’s best-ever striker. The Leicester forward was lightning quick and a deadly finisher, far more of a “fox in the box” than someone like Kane.
He went on to net four goals at the World Cup in 1990, with only Italian Toto Schillaci (six) and Czech Tomáš Skuhravý (five) outscoring him. However, four years earlier in Mexico, the then-Everton man outscored Maradona (five goals) and all the rest, with his six strikes for Bobby Robson’s men earning him the Golden Boot.
Lineker got a crucial hat-trick in England’s final group game against Poland. In the opener, he had drawn a blank in a 1-0 defeat against Portugal and then again in a 0-0 draw against Morocco. The Africans went on to top the group, with the Three Lions progressing as runners-up.
England then met Paraguay in the last 16, producing another good performance to make it back-to-back 3-0 wins. This time, Lineker got a brace, with Peter Beardsley scoring the second goal of the game. The quarter-final was that game against Argentina at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The match is remembered for Maradona’s two crazy goals, but Lineker scored in the 81st minute to give England late, and ultimately false, hope.
Lineker had scored 40 goals for Everton in the 1985/86 season, although it was not enough for them to win the title, as they did the season before he came and the one after he left. That tally, plus his World Cup feats, piqued the interest of Barcelona, and so after just one season on Merseyside, he moved to Catalonia, Everton making a profit of £2m on a player they bought for £800,000.
Suker and Rodriguez Both Win Before English Stints
Two other players have won both the World Cup Golden Boot and also appeared in the top flight of English football. The first to do so was legendary Croatian striker Davor Suker. He netted a goal for his country in France in 1998 when a Real Madrid player. He went on to play 39 times for Arsenal in 1999/2000 and 13 for West Ham in 2000/01.
📽️ VIDEO VAULT
Suker, Prosinecki, Boban, Jarni, Bilic, Stanic…The list goes on of memorable names to come from Croatia’s historic performance at France 1998 🥉
Watch @lm19official share his memories of it igniting his own #WorldCup dreams #TBT
📺👉https://t.co/hRJQzFz1Dq pic.twitter.com/jgu64ztHlE— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) January 11, 2018
More recently, James Rodriguez netted six times in the 2014 World Cup to land the Golden Boot. The Colombian, whose career has been limited by injuries, signed for Real Madrid after that. Then, after a loan spell with Bayern, he made 26 appearances for Everton under Carlo Ancelotti in 2020/21.