Outsiders: The Alternative Top Scorer

Not Mbappé, not Kane and not even Haaland, we gathered the players who are not highly rated by the betting agencies and could spring a surprise at the 2026 World Cup. Sign up now for Five on Five, in cooperation with McDonald's, Sports 5. Published: 11.06.26, 15:48. Photo: Sports 5.

Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane were the top scorers of the previous World Cups, and unsurprisingly they are also the favorites to win the title in 2026. Some believe in Erling Haaland or Mikel Oyarzabal, and others still remain loyal to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. We like to vary things and surprise, so we put together a list of 10 players who could surprise and are not ranked highly among the candidates to win the World Cup Golden Boot according to the betting agencies.

We begin with Donyell Malen. Everyone in the Netherlands talks about Memphis Depay and Cody Gakpo, but the winger who arrived at Roma in January is in the best form of the three, having scored 14 goals in 18 Serie A matches. A good option for anyone who believes the Netherlands can go far again in a major tournament. Raúl Jiménez, Fulham's 35-year-old striker, may already be past his peak, but all signs point to him having a good tournament. Mexico is the host team, and its regular penalty taker can cause plenty of trouble for opponents while taking advantage of the altitude and home-field advantage. Another option is Breel Embolo. The 29-year-old striker for Switzerland arrived late to camp because of visa problems, but in every major tournament he knows how to rise to the occasion, and this time his team also has a very favorable group and a solid core of players that can reach the later stages. Son Heung-min knows this is probably his last World Cup. At 33, the former Tottenham player is still his national team's main finisher, both from set pieces and from the penalty spot, and he has a lot to offer. He scored 7 goals in the Asian qualifiers, and South Korea has a relatively balanced group.

Eisa Ouedra, Christian Pulisic, Luis Suárez, Enner Valencia, Jonathan David, Charles De Ketelaere, 2026 World Cup. Found a language error?