2026 World Cup Goalscorer Tips & Latest Odds

The 2026 World Cup kicks off in June, as FIFA are delivering the biggest World Cup in history with 48 teams from around competing to be crowned the world's best on the 19th of July.

Each edition of the World Cup brings together the best attacking talent in the world, all vying to be known as the best forward in this tournament. Records have been set even from the early days of the competition, with the likes of Sándor Kocsis and Just Fontaine setting early records for a single tournament with 11 and 13, respectively, in 1954 and 1958.

The World Cup has seen breakout campaigns from Thomas Müller in 2010 and James Rodríguez in 2014 and most notably 2018, where Kylian Mbappé introduced himself on the world stage.

This summer, there will be plenty of debate on who will win the Golden Boot, as we take a look at the contenders involved.

Lamine Yamal is expected to miss at least the first two games of the FIFA World Cup with injury, so Spain's chances could fall on the mercurial talents of Mikel Oyarzabal from Real Sociedad.

Mikel Oyarzabal brings a painful ghost for England fans as the forward netted the winning goal in the final of the European Championships back in 2024. Oyarzabal was excellent in qualifying for La Roja, scoring six goals in six matches and averaging two shots on target per game. Spain faced a decent level of opposition in qualifying against the likes of Turkey and Georgia, so the Real Sociedad striker might fancy his chances against a Cape Verde side that conceded four goals against Chile back in March.

This season, Oyarzabal has been in excellent form for his club side with 15 league goals in 29 league starts, averaging 1.2 shots on target per 90. Oyarzabal is also a regular penalty taker for club and country, so this could prove beneficial for his Golden Boot chances at the World Cup.

Kylian Mbappe has already established himself in World Cup history when he was the vocal point of their World Cup triumph back in 2018, with a goal in the final against Croatia. Four years later, the Real Madrid striker became the only player in history to score a hat-trick in the World Cup Final, only to be on the losing side as France were beaten by Argentina in a penalty shootout.

Kylian Mbappé is now entering his third tournament and has made the maximum number of appearances in this competition, and, by doing so, has an impressive goal tally thus far. Mbappe across two tournaments has 12 goals to his name, and this season the Real Madrid forward has scored 24 league goals.

Mbappe's tally of 12 in the World Cup leaves him only four goals behind record holder Miroslav Klose's tally of 16, and France have easy opponents in Senegal and Iraq in their first two group fixtures.

Here are the latest odds provided by bet365 on who will win the 2026 Golden Boot:

• Kylian Mbappe - 6/1
• Harry Kane - 7/1
• Lionel Messi - 12/1
• Lamine Yamal - 14/1
• Erling Haaland - 14/1
• Cristiano Ronaldo - 20/1

As ever, the coverage for the World Cup will be provided on free-to-air TV through BBC and ITV services throughout.All attention will be on England's and Scotland's games during this tournament, with the following dates below for each team's games:

England:

• England vs Croatia - Wednesday June 17, Dallas, 9pm (UK time)
• England vs Ghana - Tuesday June 23, Boston, 9pm (UK time)
• Panama vs England - Saturday June 27, New York-New Jersey, 10pm (UK time)

Scotland:

• Haiti vs Scotland - Sunday June 14, Boston, 2am (UK time)
• Scotland vs Morocco - Friday June 19, Boston, 11pm (UK time)
• Scotland vs Brazil - Wednesday June 24, Miami, 11pm (UK time)