The 2026 World Cup arrives at a turning point for the sport. It will likely mark the final tournament appearances for generational stars like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, and Luka Modrić, while a new generation led by Lamine Yamal, Désiré Doué, and Arda Güler begins to take center stage.
Between those two eras sits a deep pool of stars squarely in their prime, including Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior, and Erling Haaland. The result is a World Cup with as much star power as any tournament in the competition’s 96-year history.
It also makes predicting the Golden Boot, which is handed to the player who scores the most goals at the World Cup, quite the endeavor.
Mbappe, who won the honor with eight goals in 2022, is the +600 favorite at FanDuel, but he’s only a shade ahead of 2018 winner Kane (+700). Haaland, making his World Cup debut for Norway, is the third choice at 14/1.
2026 World Cup Golden Boot picks
Igor Thiago, Brazil (50/1, DraftKings)
Brazil will bring plenty of household names to the World Cup, but they’ll also have a silent assassin.
Igor Thiago burst onto the scene in 2025-26 by scoring 22 goals in 38 appearances for Brentford of the Premier League. It was one of the great out-of-nowhere seasons in the history of the competition, and landed Thiago a spot at the top of Brazil’s attack.
A classic No. 9, Thiago is a powerful finisher who is a genius at finding soft spots in defenses. That should work like a charm on a Brazilian side that has an embarrassment of riches in the playmaking department.
It also won’t hurt that Thiago will get to take aim at Scotland, Haiti, and Ghana in the group stage.
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Michael Olise, France (45/1, FanDuel)
One of the most exciting and unpredictable players in the world, Michael Olise, is flying under the radar in this market because he will be playing second fiddle to Mbappe.
While Mbappe is a worthy favorite, Olise has proven to be a game-breaker in his own right, scoring 20 goals in 45 appearances for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and Champions League in 2025-26.
For some bettors, the presence of Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele is enough to cross Olise off their shortlist, but I’ll choose to look at it as a blessing in disguise.
If Olise played for Germany, he’d be one of the favorites for this award. Instead, you’re getting a massive discount on one of the most talented attacking players in the world because he just happens to play with two more sensational scorers.
France should go far in this tournament. They should score plenty. I expect Olise to be in on his fair share of those goals.
Jeremy Doku, Belgium (66/1, bet365)
Belgium is a post-hype sleeper at the 2026 World Cup. After coming up short with their “golden generation” in 2018 and falling flat in 2022, the Red Devils are not being picked to go deep this time around.
I’d push back on that. Not only do the Belgians have plenty of talent in their ranks, but they also have a very soft path to the quarterfinals.
Their group features New Zealand, Egypt, and Iran, and if they top the set, they’d face a third-place finisher in the Round of 32. It’s best not to project too far in these tournaments, but their Round of 16 opponent would be the winner of Group D (USA, Turkey, Paraguay, or Australia).
The point is, Belgium may not be one of the best teams in the tournament, but they should hang around for a while thanks to an easy draw and their ability to score goals. Lots of goals.
I expect Jeremy Doku to be one of the main contributors to that tally, as the Belgians will be wary of relying too heavily on target man Romelu Lukaku, who is past his prime as a striker.
Doku has never put up eye-popping scoring numbers with Manchester City, but he won’t be competing with the likes of Erling Haaland in this squad.
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Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
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