What to expect from the Golden boot favorites at the World Cup?

Of the 20 highest scorers in European league football during the 2025/26 season, 12 will be on display at the World Cup in North America. Interestingly, all 12 represent different national teams. The winner of the European Golden Shoe, Harry Kane of Bayern Munich, will captain England in Group L. Also in the group are Croatia, Ghana, and Panama. Notably, Kane will face two fellow members of the top-scorers list: Ante Budimir, who scored 17 goals for Osasuna, and Antoine Semenyo, who also scored 17 league goals while playing for AFC Bournemouth and Manchester City.

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Despite featuring three prolific scorers, bookmakers have not set an especially high total-goals line for the six matches in the group. The threshold is 15.5 goals—only one higher than the totals set for Groups A and C. Fans who enjoy attacking football may find Group I even more appealing. It features Norway and France, led by the second- and third-highest scorers in Europe: Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe. Haaland scored 27 Premier League goals for Manchester City, adding eight in the Champions League and three in the FA Cup. Yet even that was eclipsed by Mbappe, who netted 25 goals in La Liga for Real Madrid, plus two in the Copa del Rey and an impressive 15 in the Champions League. They will face Senegal and Iraq, teams against whom both strikers—and teammates such as Alexander Sorloth, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Michael Olise, and Rayan Cherki—could find plenty of scoring opportunities.

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Another intriguing market is the race for the tournament's Golden Boot. According to the odds mentioned, Mbappe is the favorite, followed by Kane, then Lionel Messi, with Haaland and Lamine Yamal also among the leading contenders. Of course, World Cups often produce unexpected breakout stars, and history shows that a relatively unannounced player can suddenly emerge as the tournament's top scorer. It is important to remember that the European Golden Shoe counts only goals scored in domestic league competitions. Goals in domestic cups and international club tournaments are excluded. The scoring system awards two points per goal in Europe's top five leagues, while goals in lower-ranked leagues such as those in Portugal for example, are worth 1.5 points each.

European Golden Shoe Standings 2025/26:

Harry Kane (Bayern Munich/England) 36 goals – 72 points

Erling Haaland (Manchester City/Norway) 27 goals – 54 points

Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid/France) 25 goals – 50 points

Dion Beljo (Dinamo Zagreb/Croatia) 31 goals – 46.5 points

Vedat Muriqi (Mallorca/Kosovo) 23 goals – 46 points

Igor Thiago (Brentford/Brazil) 22 goals – 44 points

Luis Suarez (Sporting Lisbon/Colombia) 28 goals – 42 points

Esteban Lepaul (Angers and Rennes/France) 21 goals – 42 points

Deniz Undav (Stuttgart/Germany) 19 goals – 38 points

Rayan Mmaee (Panathinaikos/Morocco) 25 goals – 37.5 points

Ayase Ueda (Feyenoord/Japan) 25 goals – 37.5 points

Donyell Malen (Aston Villa and Roma/Netherlands) 18 goals – 36 points

Aleksandar Katai (Red Star Belgrade/Serbia) 23 goals – 34.5 points

Lautaro Martínez (Inter/Argentina) 17 goals – 34 points

Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund/Guinea) 17 goals – 34 points

Ante Budimir (Osasuna/Croatia) 17 goals – 34 points

Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth and Manchester City/Ghana) 17 goals – 34 points

Paul Onuachu (Trabzonspor/Nigeria) 22 goals – 33 points

Vangelis Pavlidis (Benfica/Greece) 22 goals – 33 points

Eldor Shomurodov (Basaksehir/Uzbekistan) 22 goals – 33 points

The World Cup participants among these top 20 scorers are: Kane, Haaland, Mbappe, Undav, Ueda, Lautaro Martínez, Guirassy, Budimir, Semenyo, Pavlidis, Shomurodov, and one of the replacement-call-up candidates depending on final squad changes.