What happened when four players tied for the 2010 World Cup Golden Boot? Can Messi and Mbappé do it too? | Football News

Messi and Mbappé’s Golden Boot battle could be decided by FIFA tiebreaker rules after a dramatic finish.

The race for the Golden Boot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup is headed for a finish that resembles one of the closest battles in the history of the tournament.Lionel Messi currently leads the standings with eight goals and four assists, just ahead of France captain Kylian Mbappé, who has eight goals and three assists. Although the players are equal in terms of goals, Messi leads because the first tiebreaker in FIFA is assists.With France still set to face England in the third-place playoff before Argentina face Spain in the World Cup final, the race is far from over. It’s a situation that echoes the spectacular finish of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, when four players finished the tournament level on goals and FIFA had to separate them using its official tiebreakers.

The 2010 World Cup produced one of the closest Golden Boot races ever witnessed.Thomas Müller of Germany, David Villa of Spain, Wesley Sneijder of the Netherlands, and Diego Forlán of Uruguay all finished the tournament with five goals.Instead of declaring equal winners, FIFA applies official ranking criteria.Müller also contributed three assists, while Villa, Sneijder and Forlán finished with one assist.That gave the German forward the Golden Boot despite all four players finishing level on goals.The remaining positions are decided by the next tiebreaker: minutes played.Villa claimed the Silver Boot because he played less than the other two players.Sneijder received the Bronze Boot after logging fewer minutes than Forlán, leaving the Uruguay captain fourth despite matching the others for goals.The final standings are:

Interestingly, both Müller and Forlán scored one goal each in the third place playoff. Germany beat Uruguay 3-2 to take the bronze medal, but Müller’s superior assist tally ensured he remained atop the Golden Boot standings.

Although often described as a consolation match, the third-place playoff is still considered an official FIFA World Cup fixture.Every goal, assist and minute played contributes to the race for the Golden Boot.History has produced many examples where the game directly influenced the outcome of the award.In the 1958 World Cup, France striker Just Fontaine scored an incredible four goals against West Germany in the third-place playoff to finish with 13 goals, a single-tournament World Cup record that stands today.Four decades ago, at the 1998 World Cup, Croatia striker Davor Šuker scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over the Netherlands in the third-place playoff. That strike took him to six goals, ahead of any other opponent in the Golden Boot.

Why 2026 could produce another tiebreaker finish

The current standings show how balanced the race is.

Messi came out on top after creating two assists in Argentina’s dramatic 2-1 semifinal comeback against England. Although he didn’t score, his passes for Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez took his assist tally to four, one more than Mbappé.France’s elimination did not end Mbappé’s chances as Les Bleus still face England in the third-place playoff. Any goals scored there count towards the Golden Boot, giving the France captain one last opportunity to advance before Messi plays Spain in the World Cup final.How FIFA decides the Golden BootFIFA applies three criteria to determine the winner:

Those exact regulations decided the award in 2010 and could also prove decisive if Messi and Mbappé finish level in the 2026 tournament in terms of goals.

The award is always chosen by good margins in recent tournaments:

At the same level as Messi and Mbappé with eight goals, another race for the Golden Boot may finally be decided not by goals alone, but by the same tiebreaker rules that separated Müller, Villa, Sneijder and Forlán in South Africa 16 years ago.