World Cup Golden Boot: Messi leads Mbappe, Haaland before quarterfinals

Messi is the top goal scorer after tallying his eighth against Egypt, with Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe next best.Argentina superstar Lionel Messi has, once again, taken the lead in the race for the World Cup’s Golden Boot award after scoring his eighth goal in his country’s thrilling 3-2 win over Egypt in the round of 16 on Tuesday.Messi’s goal brought Argentina back on level terms after they were 2-0 down in the match in Atlanta, and also helped him break away from the rest of the pack.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4France vs Morocco: Key talking points ahead of FIFA World Cup quarterfinallist 2 of 4Who’s in, who’s out: Which teams made the FIFA World Cup quarterfinalslist 3 of 4VIDEO: World Cup Day 27: Egypt exits after controversial loss to Argentinalist 4 of 4European MPs call for probe of FIFA boss Infantino over red card suspensionend of listFor three days, French talisman Kylian Mbappe and Argentinian great Lionel Messi rubbed shoulders as the joint leaders – with seven goals apiece – in the race to be the tournament’s top goal scorer, but Haaland’s double in Norway’s round of 16 win against Brazil put him level with both on Sunday.When the World Cup’s knockout stage began, Messi became the first to reach seven goals when Argentina beat Cape Verde on Friday, and Mbappe matched him a day later as France beat Paraguay.England’s Harry Kane took his tally to six goals after scoring in England’s thrilling 3-2 win over Mexico late on Sunday.Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal and Mbappe’s teammate Ousmane Dembele are hot on their heels with four goals each.Here’s everything you need to know about FIFA’s Golden Boot award:Messi shoots at goal during the Argentina-Egypt last-16 tie at Atlanta Stadium [Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images via Reuters]What’s the FIFA Golden Boot award and how is it decided?FIFA’s Golden Boot is awarded to the player with the most goals at the end of the tournament.France’s Mbappe is the current holder after scoring eight goals in Qatar at the 2022 World Cup.