Ronaldo's brace against Uzbekistan puts him in World Cup 2026 golden boot race with Messi

Cristiano Ronaldo fired a brace against Uzbekistan at World Cup 2026 to end a difficult start to the tournament and thrust himself into contention for the golden boot, joining Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland among the leading scorers heading into the knockout stage.

Ronaldo’s two goals came after a subdued opening group-stage performance had prompted questions about whether he was holding Portugal back. The response was emphatic, lifting him to joint sixth in the standings on two goals, with one assist separating him from several players at the same mark.

Messi remains the clear frontrunner on five goals after backing up a hat-trick against Algeria with a double against Austria — recovering from a penalty miss to underline his enduring quality at 37. Mbappe and Haaland both scored doubles on the same matchday to sit joint second on four goals apiece, with France’s captain enduring a near two-hour weather delay before his side could play.

Germany’s Deniz Undav occupies fourth place on three goals and two assists, edging Jonathan David of Canada — also on three goals — by virtue of the tiebreaker criteria. Where players are level on goals, assists are counted first, followed by minutes played and goals-per-minute ratio.

Harry Kane, Vinicius Jr and a cluster of others on two goals still have the group stage to conclude, leaving the standings fluid before the knockout rounds begin.

World Cup 2026 golden boot standings

1. Lionel Messi (Argentina) — 5 goals

2. Kylian Mbappe (France) — 4 goals

3. Erling Haaland (Norway) — 4 goals

4. Deniz Undav (Germany) — 3 goals (2 assists)

5. Jonathan David (Canada) — 3 goals

6. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) — 2 goals (1 assist)

7. Vinicius Jr (Brazil) — 2 goals (1 assist)

8. Cody Gakpo (Netherlands) — 2 goals (1 assist)

9. Crysencio Summerville (Netherlands) — 2 goals (1 assist)

10. Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) — 2 goals (1 assist)

11. Maximiliano Araujo (Uruguay) — 2 goals (1 assist)

12. Ayase Ueda (Japan) — 2 goals (1 assist)

13. Harry Kane (England) — 2 goals

14. Matheus Cunha (Brazil) — 2 goals

15. Yasin Ayari (Sweden) — 2 goals

16. Elijah Just (New Zealand) — 2 goals

17. Kai Havertz (Germany) — 2 goals

18. Johan Manzambi (Switzerland) — 2 goals

19. Cyle Larin (Canada) — 2 goals

20. Ismael Saibari (Morocco) — 2 goals

21. Folarin Balogun (USA) — 2 goals

22. Brian Brobbey (Netherlands) — 2 goals

23. Daichi Kamada (Japan) — 2 goals

24. Ismaila Sarr (Senegal) — 2 goals