World Cup 2026 Top Scorer Betting Odds: 5 Favorites in Check
The big favorites for the title of “World Cup Top Scorer 2026” in the betting odds of the sports betting providers before the start of the tournament are the superstars Kylian Mbappe (France) and Harry Kane (England). However, the two old masters Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) and Lionel Messi (Argentina) as well as Norway’s Erling Haaland are also seen as contenders for the Golden Boot.
Who will score the most World Cup goals and be the top scorer of the 2026 World Cup?
Top scorer prediction: Will Kylian Mbappe score the most World Cup goals in 2026?
When betting and betting on the 2026 World Cup top scorer, you won’t be able to get past Kylian Mbappe – especially since France is also expected to do a lot in every World Cup 2026 favorites prediction. The logical conclusion: If France goes far, there should also be many Mbappe goals.
France’s captain has been one of the best strikers in the world for years. In the French Ligue 1, Mbappe was the top scorer five times in a row from 2019 to 2024. In the 2024/2025 season, he became the top scorer in the Spanish La Liga and in the end even “Europe’s best goalscorer”.
He has also been the top scorer at the World Cup: At the 2022 World Cup, he was presented with the Golden Boot for the best World Cup goalscorer after scoring eight goals.
In the World Cup 2026 top scorer betting odds, Mbappe is once again the top favorite for the most World Cup goals. Les Bleus’ game is geared towards him and he also shoots the penalties.
Will Mbappe succeed in “defending the title”? He would do something historic: No one has ever been top scorer at the World Cup twice in a row!
What should be considered, however, in a World Cup top scorer tip on Mbappe: In the Equipe Tricolore there are some other accurate and goal-scoring strikers, such as Ousmane Dembele or Michael Olise, who could “steal” a few World Cup goals from their captain.
- World Cup top scorer Chances for Mbappe: ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️
World Cup Top Scorer Betting on Harry Kane?
The second big favourite at the 2026 World Cup top scorer betting odds is England captain Harry Kane.
At Bayern Munich, Kane scores like on a conveyor belt. He also contributed eight of England’s 22 goals in World Cup qualifying. If he shows this accuracy at the 2026 World Cup, the World Cup top scorer bets on Kane could prove worthwhile. Especially since Kane is also a very safe penalty taker.
Kane has already won the Golden Boot – at the 2018 World Cup with six tournament goals.
But: At the last tournaments, the “Harrycane” was more of a breeze: Two goals at the 2022 World Cup, only three goals at EURO 2024 and four times he scored at EURO 2021.
However – and this should be taken into account in a World Cup top scorer bet on Harry Kane – there are three arguments against him: First, the rather defensive style of play of the “Three Lions”, second, the not exactly easy preliminary round in Group L and third, he has some goal-threatening offensive colleagues like Bukayo Saka in his team.
- World Cup top scorer chances for Kane: ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️
That’s why Ronaldo is (not) one of the World Cup top scorers favorites
Will veteran Cristiano Ronaldo also win the “Golden Boot” for the 2026 World Cup top scorer as he bids farewell to the big football stage? CR7 is still missing this trophy from its magnificent collection – as well as the world championship title. Will he even grab both at his last World Cup tournament?
Old and new bookmakers alike see Ronaldo in the role of co-favorite in their World Cup top scorer betting odds for most World Cup goals in 2026.
But: He is still good for goals – even against strong teams, although he has only played in Saudi Arabia in recent years. In the World Cup qualifiers, however, Ronaldo proved with a total of five goals that he can also perform at a higher level.
In World Cup Group K, Portugal and thus Ronaldo have at least two opponents in the preliminary round against whom he could score goals.
- World Cup 2026 top scorer Chances for Ronaldo: ⚽️⚽️⚽️
Will Erling Haaland win the Golden Boot?
Norway is back at a World Cup for the first time since 1998 – and with superstar Erling Haaland in the team, the Vikings are even likely to go into the tournament as secret favorites to win the title. And thus also Haaland as a co-favorite for the Golden Boot, as the 2026 World Cup top scorer odds of the bookmakers with a German license show.
The “TORweger” not only runs for goals en masse at Manchester City, but also in the team jersey. Haaland scored a total of 14 times in World Cup qualifying. This makes Haaland a hot World Cup 2026 top scorer tip.
But whether he actually has a chance of winning the Golden Boot will depend on how far Norway gets in the course of the tournament. In Group I, a difficult draw awaits in the preliminary round with France and Senegal.
- World Cup top scorer Chances for Haaland: ⚽️⚽️⚽️
World Cup 2026 top scorer Tip on Lionel Messi?
Lionel Messi has all the valuable trophies and trophies of the football world in his display case – only one award is missing: the World Cup top scorer title. Even on the way to the 2022 World Cup triumph, he did not succeed in doing so despite scoring 7 goals in the tournament. And this time?
In the World Cup top scorer bets and odds, Messi is more likely to be listed among the many co-favorites in the run-up.
In the USA with his club Inter Miami, he scores with great regularity and there are also numerous Messi goals in the jersey of the Albiceleste – a total of eight in the qualification for this World Cup. He was even the top scorer in South American qualifying.
In the preliminary round, Argentina has the teams from Austria, Algeria and Jordan as opponents in Group J. If he scores there a few times, bets on Messi as the 2026 World Cup top scorer could be successful.
- World Cup top scorer chances for Messi: ⚽️⚽️
Insider Tips for World Cup Top Scorer Bets
Who could still score many goals in the 2026 World Cup stadiums? Behind the top candidates for the “Golden Boot” there is a wide field of co-favorites for the World Cup top scorer title.
In the French team, for example, Ousmane Dembele, the Ballon d’Or winner of 2025, who also always provides a goal threat in the national team, is also whirling in the offensive in addition to Mbappe.
Spain has one of the greatest talents in world football in Lamine Yamal in its squad and the winger has a good chance of winning the “Golden Boot” for the best World Cup 2026 goalscorer, according to expert assessments and bookmaker predictions.
In addition to Messi, the Argentina team even has two strikers as candidates for the “Golden Boot” in Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez.
This also applies to Brazil’s egocentric diva Vinicius Jr., who also appears in the list of the 2026 World Cup top scorer favorites.
If you take the World Cup qualification as a reference for the World Cup top scorer prediction, then the Dutchman Memphis Depay (8 qualifying goals), Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal (6) and Colombia’s Luis Diaz (7) should not be completely ignored for the most World Cup 2026 goals.
Top World Cup goalscorer: This is what the German chances are
What are Germany’s chances of winning the top scorer title at the 2026 World Cup?
The German World Cup team does not have a super shot-stopper like Harry Kane, Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe in its ranks, but it does have some goal-threatening offensive players who should provide the necessary goals.
Before the start of the tournament, Nick Woltemade is most likely to be given the best chances of winning the World Cup 2026 top scorer title.
In addition to “Goaltemade”, the DFB selection has many other goal-scoring attacking players in the squad – such as Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz. Or will super talent Lennart Karl cause a sensation and score the most goals at the 2026 World Cup?
5 Tips for World Cup Top Scorer 2026 Betting
There are many contenders for the 2026 World Cup top scorer. After all, the crème de la crème of world football is at the biggest World Cup of all time. For successful World Cup top scorer tips, however, a few “rules” should still be observed.
Here are 5 tips for betting on the top scorer of the 2026 World Cup:
1. The quality of the group opponents: Especially in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup, the difference in quality between the teams can be large, so that the goalscorers can already lay the foundation for the title of World Cup top scorer in the first three games.
Which teams will your favorite for the World Cup 2026 top scorer title face in the preliminary round? Do you think he can score many goals in the three preliminary round games?
2. The quality of your own team: Who will end up being the player with the most World Cup goals in 2026 also depends largely on the quality of your own team.
Mbappe and Kane each have a team around them that is very strong and can go far in the course of the tournament. This also helps with a World Cup top scorer tip.
3. Internal competition: Is the favourite for the “Golden World Cup Boot 2026” the undisputed goalgetter of his team, or are there one or even more players in his own team who could also be considered as the best European Championship goalscorer?
The best example is probably France: With a top scorer bet on Kylian Mbappe or Harry Kane, it must be borne in mind that some of his fellow strikers can also be considered for most of the 2026 World Cup goals and could thus “take away” some goals from their teammates.
4. Free kicks & penalties: If you place World Cup 2026 top scorer bets, you should also pay attention to whether the selected player is also responsible for penalties and free kicks for his team.
In the end, that can be the decisive factor when he also shoots his team’s penalties. This applies, for example, to Kane, Mbappe, Messi, Haaland and Ronaldo.
5. Form: Form is not an insignificant aspect. Will one of the favourites for the most WMM goals come to the finals in very good shape or will he have to struggle with a (persistent) form crisis or even an injury at club level in the spring?
If the respective striker is not in the starting line-up at the 2026 World Cup, he will also have worse chances at the World Cup 2026 top scorer bets.
