BATTLE FOR TOP SCORER INTENSIFIES

Messi leads race with six goals; four others on four, including 2022 winner Mbappe.

- David Lee

The North American summer is scorching hot, and what is even hotter is the race for the coveted Golden Boot at the FIFA World Cup.

With his free kick in the 3-1 win over Jordan on June 27, Argentina legend Lionel Messi leads the top scorers' chart with six goals and 19 over six tournaments.

Taking into account his goals from each of the knockout rounds in 2022, the maestro set a new milestone for being the first player to score in seven consecutive World Cup games.

Having turned 39 on June 24, he is on course for more achievements, including becoming the tournament's oldest Golden Boot winner a record belonging to Croatia's Davor Suker, who was 30 when he won it in 1998.

But there are many worthy contenders in Messi's rear-view mirror, and a two-goal buffer can easily evaporate.

Even before the group stage ended on June 27, many of the world's best attackers had already started to stake their claim by scoring goals by the bucketload.

The second round of Group I, J and K matches on June 22 and 23 was an extraordinary case in point.

Messi was up first at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, scoring twice in the 2-0 win over Austria despite missing an early penalty. He became the World Cup's alltime leading scorer, surpassing the previous leader, Germany's Miroslav Klose, who had 16 in total.