KANSAS CITY, United States (AFP) — Usually a subplot, the race for the World Cup Golden Boot is one of the main talking points at the 2026 tournament as the top marksmen set a blistering pace.

The overall record has already been broken by Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, who now has 18 goals over six World Cups after adding five in two games in the United States.

But he is being chased hard by Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, and Vinicius Junior — who have four goals apiece — with Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane also in the mix.

The long-standing single-tournament record of 13 goals set in 1958 by France’s Just Fontaine appears vulnerable.

German great Gerd Muller was the last man to hit double figures, at the 1970 tournament in Mexico, when he scored 10 goals.

Since then, at all but three tournaments, the leading scorer has hit six goals or fewer.

Messi, who turns 39 on Wednesday, has been the standout performer so far at the tournament in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

He struck a memorable hat-trick against Algeria before scoring twice in a 2-0 victory over Austria, accounting for all five of the defending champions’ goals so far.

Argentina Coach Lionel Scaloni said it was “hard to explain” the genius of the veteran forward after their opening match in Kansas City.

“We are amazed with him still, although we get to see him on a daily basis, and he’s been the best for 20 years,” he said. “He still pulls it off every single match.”

Messi’s most likely challenger, based on the prospect of a deep run in the tournament, is Mbappe, who scored eight goals four years ago in Qatar to win the Golden Boot.

The 27-year-old, now France’s record goalscorer, is just two goals behind Messi’s career total.

The Real Madrid star said, perhaps unconvincingly, that chasing Messi was not top of his mind after his team’s 3-0 stroll against Iraq in their second game.

“Leo always scores goals and always will,” he said. “So I am not looking at what he is doing, I’m just focusing on helping my team.”

Level with Mbappe on four goals is Manchester City forward Haaland, who has scored in his past 12 competitive appearances for Norway.

The giant forward, 25, played down his extraordinary talent after taking his international tally to a remarkable 59 goals in 52 games.

“It’s like many other things, I’m just really good at scoring goals and I’m quite lucky,” he said. “I don’t know what I’m doing. It’s just how it is.”