UNPRECEDENTED LIVELINESS
Based on the 2025-2026 Champions League season and the top five European leagues, the three most formidable strikers ahead of the 2026 World Cup are identified as Harry Kane (England), Kylian Mbappe (France), and Erling Haaland (Norway).
Jonathan David scored a hat-trick in Canada's 6-0 victory over Qatar.
PHOTO: AFP
On one hand, fans are anticipating a thrilling showdown between these three goal-scoring machines. On the other hand, observers are skeptical: Will Kane enter the World Cup exhausted after his impressive run of 61 goals in 55 games for Bayern Munich? Nearly 100 years have passed (since Dixie Dean in the 1927-1928 season) since an English player surpassed the 60-goal mark in a single season. Could Kane have poured all his energy into that achievement?
Almost every World Cup sees the disappointment of the most anticipated superstars, primarily due to exhaustion. This is the third consecutive year that Kane, Haaland, and Mbappe haven't had a summer break. No one has forgotten the iconic image of Zinedine Zidane in the summer of 2002. Completely exhausted, Zidane fell face down – literally – without any challenge. Defending champions France, with Zidane as the team's heart and soul, were eliminated after the group stage of that World Cup.
This time it's completely different. The 2026 World Cup is perhaps the only World Cup in the modern era where the most famous strikers immediately showed their form before the tournament, living up to expectations, at least up to this point. Kane, Mbappe, and Haaland all scored two goals in their first matches. And yet, they all still lag behind Lionel Messi, with his magnificent hat-trick for Argentina.
Who holds the World Cup records?
Messi wasn't included in the list of superstars discussed by experts regarding the risk of burnout because he's been away from the top level of European competition for many years. The same goes for Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal. Now, apart from Ronaldo's lackluster performance, the four biggest superstars in the tournament – Messi, Kane, Haaland, and Mbappe – are all shining brightly. The race for the top scorer title among them is both exciting and crucial to their teams' chances of winning the championship.
WORLD CUP RECORDS WILL CONTINUE TO BE BROKEN AGAIN.
For the past 40 years, the World Cup has never witnessed more than two hat-tricks in a single tournament. Now, two hat-tricks have already been scored in the first round of matches. Besides Messi, Jonathan David also scored a hat-trick for the host nation, Canada.
Harry Kane is a world-class striker for the 2026 World Cup.
PHOTO: REUTERS
In the last four World Cups (64 matches each), the number of players who scored two or more goals in a single match was 19 (2022), 13 (2018), 16 (2014), and 11 (2010). Now, 15 players have achieved this feat in just the first 36 matches – more than the total number of doubles or hat-tricks scored in the entire tournament in the 2018 and 2010 World Cups combined, and nearly equal to that number in the other two tournaments.
All of this shows that the race for the top scorer title this year is not only exciting because of the good form of the most notable strikers, but also because the big stars are facing so much competition. On one hand, it will be a fascinating topic for fans to watch as the top scorers directly compete against each other. On the other hand, the race for the top scorer title at this World Cup will trigger another important race, right after the World Cup ends: the race between the giant clubs to secure the signatures of new stars: Johan Manzambi (Switzerland), Folarin Balogun (USA), Elijah Just (New Zealand), Yasin Ayari (Sweden)...
Right now, leading the top scorer award is a rather unusual name: Deniz Undav (Germany). If the total number of goals is tied, FIFA will consider two tie-breaking criteria to award the prize: the number of assists (more) and the number of minutes played (less). Undav has 3 goals, the same as David and Messi, but he also leads in both tie-breaking criteria (2 assists and only 56 minutes played).
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hap-dan-cuoc-dua-gianh-chuc-vua-pha-luoi-world-cup-2026-185260621221432572.htm
