Messi to be banned from “Golden Boot” at the 2026 World Cup

• Messi will miss the match in the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup — a one-match ban for “Golden Boot.”
• Messi has six goals at the tournament, and he is the current top scorer for his team; he has already scored the same number of goals as Kylian Mbappé, and FIFA says it is not yet clear how many goals will be enough to win the Golden Boot.
• In the AP materials, it is stated that the ban is connected with the fact that, according to the rules, the “Golden Boot” winner must have scored a minimum number of goals, and Sarrr has not scored any goals through the end of the group stage.

Lionel Messi will miss the match in the Round of 16 of the tournament, after Argentina’s match against the winner of the Round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup. According to AP, Messi will be banned from playing for “Golden Boot.”

AP reports that Messi has six goals at the tournament, having scored the same number of goals as Kylian Mbappé of France, who also has six goals. “The Golden Boot” will be awarded to the player who scores the most goals.

According to AP information, before the match, the “Golden Boot” race is expected to be decided by England’s and France’s players: Dembele (France), Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain), Vinicius Junior (Brazil) and Ismaila Sarr (Senegal), but Sarr has not scored any goals in the “Golden Boot” race, so his chances are limited.

In a related report, the Independent writes that, at the moment of publication, Kylian Mbappé has scored a certain number of goals, while Messi has scored goals, which is why the connection with the ban is made. Independent also notes that the ban should be understood as a rule: a player’s goal tally is what matters, and the winner is determined by the number of goals scored.

Tags: Sport/Football