Dembele is Hot on Lionel Messi's Heels in the 2026 World Cup Top Scorer Race.

The race for the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot is growing increasingly intense. France national team forward Ousmane Dembélé successfully closed the gap on Lionel Messi after scoring a hat-trick as Les Bleus claimed a dominant 4-1 victory over Norway in their final Group I fixture.

With the addition of those three goals, Dembélé now holds a total of four goals, trailing Lionel Messi by just one strike as the Argentine currently leads the provisional scoring charts with five goals.

Dembélé's superb performance further confirms his role as one of the deadliest attacking outlets at this edition of the World Cup. His clinical finishing has been a key driving factor behind France's perfect clean sweep of all three group stage matches.

Dembélé's goal tally is now level with his French teammate Kylian Mbappé, who had already reached the four goal mark earlier in the tournament.

Alongside Mbappé, Dembélé has also matched the scoring output of Norway striker Erling Haaland and Brazil star Vinícius Júnior.

Lionel Messi still retains a strong opportunity to extend his lead. The Argentina national team captain is yet to play his side's third group stage match, leaving him positioned to add further goals to his total.

Messi will get this chance when Argentina face Jordan in the final Group J fixture at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, United States, on Sunday WIB. Should he find the net once again, Messi will solidify his position at the top of the provisional top scorer rankings.

Meanwhile, the group of players sat on three goals also remain very much in contention. Jonathan David, Deniz Undav, Johan Manzambi, Matheus Cunha, Ismael Saibari and Brian Brobbey all retain the opportunity to close the gap if they produce sharp finishing in the upcoming tournament rounds.

The Golden Boot race continues to grow more compelling, as almost all the players positioned high on the scoring charts have successfully qualified with their national teams for the Round of 32. This means there remains a wide open opportunity for all contenders to keep adding to their goal tallies.

2026 World Cup Provisional Top Scorers

5 Goals
Lionel Messi (Argentina)

4 Goals
Ousmane Dembélé (France)
Kylian Mbappé (France)
Erling Haaland (Norway)
Vinícius Júnior (Brazil)

3 Goals
Jonathan David (Canada)
Deniz Undav (Germany)
Johan Manzambi (Switzerland)
Matheus Cunha (Brazil)
Ismael Saibari (Morocco)
Brian Brobbey (Netherlands)

2 Goals
Folarin Balogun (United States)
Kai Havertz (Germany)
Yasin Ayari (Sweden)
Anthony Elanga (Sweden)
Elijah Just (New Zealand)
Harry Kane (England)
Cyle Larin (Canada)
Cody Gakpo (Netherlands)
Crysencio Summerville (Netherlands)
Daichi Kamada (Japan)
Ayase Ueda (Japan)
Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain)
Maxi Araujo (Uruguay)
Ismaila Sarr (Senegal)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Daniel Muñoz (Colombia)
Ruben Vargas (Switzerland)
Ermin Mahmic (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Julián Quiñones (Mexico)
Nicolas Pépé (Ivory Coast)