Folarin Balogun Leads Early World Cup 2026 Golden Boot Race

USA forward Folarin Balogun is the early frontrunner for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Golden Boot, having scored two goals in the United States' 2‑0 opening win over Paraguay. The 48‑team tournament, which adds an extra round of 32, provides strikers with more matches to increase their tallies. Other players with a goal include South Korea’s Hwang In‑Beom, who also recorded an assist, and a dozen additional competitors such as Bosnia‑and‑Herzegovina’s Jovo Lukic, Canada’s Cyle Larin, Czech Republic’s Ladislav Krejci, Mexico’s Raúl Jiménez and Julián Quiñónez, Paraguay’s Mauricio, South Korea’s Oh Hyeon‑gyu, USA’s Gio Reyna, Switzerland’s Breel Embolo, Brazil’s Vinícius Júnior and Morocco’s Ismael Saibari. The race also features established scorers like England’s Harry Kane, France’s Kylylian Mbappé and Norway’s Erling Haaland, who currently lead the broader qualification leaderboard. Ties will be broken by assists, minutes played and goals‑per‑minute ratios.