Lionel Messi and Jairzinho share the men’s World Cup mark for most goals at one finals without taking the Golden Boot. Both scored seven: Jairzinho for Brazil in 1970 and Messi for Argentina in 2022.
Their cases underline how the award can sit apart from a tournament’s bigger story. Jairzinho’s Brazil won the World Cup, but Gerd Müller’s 10 goals for West Germany put the scoring prize out of reach. Messi also lifted the trophy and won the Golden Ball in 2022, while Kylian Mbappé’s eight goals secured the Golden Boot.
The same theme runs through earlier high-scoring tournaments. In 1954, Max Morlock, Erich Probst and Josef Hügi all reached six goals, yet Sandor Kocsis finished well clear. Four years later, Pelé and Helmut Rahn also scored six, but Just Fontaine’s 13-goal tournament set a different standard.
Women’s World Cup history has similar near-misses. Heidi Mohr scored seven for Germany in 1991 but finished behind Michelle Akers-Stahl, while Abby Wambach and Ragnhild Gulbrandsen each scored six in 2007 as Marta won the award with seven. In 2019, Alex Morgan and Ellen White were among the six-goal players, with Megan Rapinoe taking the Golden Boot on tie-break criteria.
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