A tale of two World Cups: Stars deliver while highly rated teams stumble
While individual stars have continued to shine, several teams expected to challenge for the title have endured disappointing campaigns and early eliminations.
France's Kylian Mbappe, Argentina's Lionel Messi, Norway's Erling Haaland and England's Harry Kane arrived at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as some of football's biggest stars. Individually, they have lived up to the billing, emerging as leading contenders for the Golden Boot, even as some of the tournament's fancied teams have fallen short of expectations.
In fact, Mbappe leads the Golden Boot race with seven goals and two assists, followed by Messi and Haaland, who have seven goals apiece. Remarkably, all three have found the net in every match they have played at the ongoing World Cup.
Messi has rewritten the record books by becoming the World Cup's all-time leading goalscorer with 20 goals. Mbappe is just one behind on 19, while Kane sits fifth on the tournament's all-time scoring list with 14 goals.
Messi's remarkable run has also seen him score in eight consecutive World Cup matches. In doing so, he broke the record previously shared by France’s Just Fontaine and Brazil’s Jairzinho, who had each scored in six successive World Cup matches before the 2026 tournament.
His other achievements include a record 30 World Cup appearances across six editions of the tournament. He also became the oldest player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup match.
Mbappe, too, is enjoying the form of his life. Having won the Golden Boot with eight goals at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, he is well-placed to retain the award. If he succeeds, he will become the first player in World Cup history to win the Golden Boot in back-to-back tournaments.
HEAVYWEIGHT TEAMS STRUGGLING
While individual stars have continued to shine, several teams expected to challenge for the title have endured disappointing campaigns and early eliminations. Brazil, the five-time world champions and fifth-ranked side in the latest FIFA rankings, suffered their worst World Cup showing since 1966, exiting the tournament before even reaching the quarter-finals stage.
Germany, the four-time champions and one of the tournament favourites, also endured a disastrous campaign, failing to reach even the pre-quarterfinal stage. Ranked 12th in the FIFA rankings, Germany suffered their first-ever World Cup defeat on penalties, losing to Paraguay.
Similarly, Cristiano Ronaldo was unable to rescue Portugal from an early elimination, while the Netherlands endured a disappointing World Cup outing, falling short of expectations. Portugal, ranked seventh in the FIFA rankings, and the Netherlands, placed ninth, both entered the tournament with high expectations but fell short of their potential.
Of the six teams that have progressed to the quarterfinals, Norway stands out as the side outside the FIFA rankings' top 10. The remaining contenders — Morocco, France, England, Spain, and Belgium — are all among the world's top-ranked teams.
France's Kylian Mbappe, Argentina's Lionel Messi, Norway's Erling Haaland and England's Harry Kane arrived at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as some of football's biggest stars. Individually, they have lived up to the billing, emerging as leading contenders for the Golden Boot, even as some of the tournament's fancied teams have fallen short of expectations.
In fact, Mbappe leads the Golden Boot race with seven goals and two assists, followed by Messi and Haaland, who have seven goals apiece. Remarkably, all three have found the net in every match they have played at the ongoing World Cup.
Messi has rewritten the record books by becoming the World Cup's all-time leading goalscorer with 20 goals. Mbappe is just one behind on 19, while Kane sits fifth on the tournament's all-time scoring list with 14 goals.
Messi's remarkable run has also seen him score in eight consecutive World Cup matches. In doing so, he broke the record previously shared by France’s Just Fontaine and Brazil’s Jairzinho, who had each scored in six successive World Cup matches before the 2026 tournament.
His other achievements include a record 30 World Cup appearances across six editions of the tournament. He also became the oldest player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup match.
Mbappe, too, is enjoying the form of his life. Having won the Golden Boot with eight goals at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, he is well-placed to retain the award. If he succeeds, he will become the first player in World Cup history to win the Golden Boot in back-to-back tournaments.
HEAVYWEIGHT TEAMS STRUGGLING
While individual stars have continued to shine, several teams expected to challenge for the title have endured disappointing campaigns and early eliminations. Brazil, the five-time world champions and fifth-ranked side in the latest FIFA rankings, suffered their worst World Cup showing since 1966, exiting the tournament before even reaching the quarter-finals stage.
Germany, the four-time champions and one of the tournament favourites, also endured a disastrous campaign, failing to reach even the pre-quarterfinal stage. Ranked 12th in the FIFA rankings, Germany suffered their first-ever World Cup defeat on penalties, losing to Paraguay.
Similarly, Cristiano Ronaldo was unable to rescue Portugal from an early elimination, while the Netherlands endured a disappointing World Cup outing, falling short of expectations. Portugal, ranked seventh in the FIFA rankings, and the Netherlands, placed ninth, both entered the tournament with high expectations but fell short of their potential.
Of the six teams that have progressed to the quarterfinals, Norway stands out as the side outside the FIFA rankings' top 10. The remaining contenders — Morocco, France, England, Spain, and Belgium — are all among the world's top-ranked teams.
