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Messi Tops Golden Boot Race Without Scoring Due to FIFA Tiebreak Rules

How 2 Israeli newsrooms covered this story — translated into English and compared side by side.

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First reported by Mako · 2 hours ago

What happened

Lionel Messi leads the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot race over Kylian Mbappé due to having more assists despite equal goals. The award could still shift after the third-place match where Mbappé plays, as all goals count. Minutes played also serve as a tiebreaker, currently favoring Messi.

01Messi and Mbappé each have eight goals in the 2026 World Cup.
02Messi leads the Golden Boot race due to having four assists versus Mbappé's three.
03Goals in the third-place match count, giving Mbappé a chance to overtake Messi.
04Messi will play the final against Spain, a team with strong defense.
05If goals and assists tie, the player with fewer minutes played wins; Messi leads here.
06Messi has played 59 more minutes than Mbappé due to extra time in earlier matches.

Summary translated & synthesized from the sources below by baba. Read each original for the full report.

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