Goals in the World Cup third-place play-off count towards the Golden Boot, meaning Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham can still win at the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico despite France and England exiting in the semi-finals.

Heading into the final two matches, the quartet are among seven players with five or more goals. England and France meet in the third-place play-off Saturday; Spain face Argentina in the final Sunday. Mbappe is joint-top with Lionel Messi on eight goals each, but Messi leads due to an extra assist. Erling Haaland has seven but cannot add more after Norway's quarter-final exit. Kane and Bellingham have six each; Dembele and Mikel Oyarzabal have five.

The race could hinge on how strong a side England and France field. In 2018, Gareth Southgate made five changes for the third-place match; Kane started but did not score. Seven previous Golden Boot winners scored in the third-place play-off; four needed those goals to win. Thomas Muller (2010), Davor Suker (1998), Salvatore Schillaci (1990) and Leonidas (1938) benefitted, while Grzegorz Lato, Eusebio and Just Fontaine would have won regardless.