Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are currently locked in an absurd goalscoring race, but how have they all simultaneously reached their peak?
When ranking the best strikers in world football – as is our collective legal obligation at some point during each of the 427 international breaks in a season – a clear hierarchy has emerged at the top.
Your Harry Kanes, Your Kylian Mbappes, Your Chris Woods and the Erling Haalands Of This World are, on current form, an echelon or two above the rest.
But while Wood is busy very possibly having his managerial credentials considered by the increasingly head-losing Evangelos Marinakis, the other three centre-forwards literally cannot stop scoring. It is a horrifying affliction and someone really ought to intervene and help.
Kane has 19 goals and three assists for club and country this season, scoring at a rate of one every 57 minutes with a goal contribution every 49.22.
The Bayern Munich and England forward has scored in 10 of his 12 games this season, only failing in a 3-2 win over Augsburg in which he assisted two goals, and a 2-0 victory against Andorra.
His current goalscoring streak is eight consecutive games.
Mbappe has 17 goals and four assists for club and country this season, scoring at a rate of one every 66.7 minutes with a goal contribution every 54.
The Real Madrid and France striker has scored in 12 of his 13 games this season, only failing in a 2-1 win over Real Mallorca.
His current goalscoring streak is 10 consecutive games, and his career statistics are ridiculous.
Haaland has 23 goals and three assists for club and country this season, scoring at a rate of one every 43.1 minutes with a goal contribution every 38.11.
The Manchester City and Norway robot has scored in 11 of his 12 games this season, only failing in a 2-0 defeat to Spurs.
His current goalscoring streak is 10 consecutive games, and his career statistics are laughable.
They will very likely end up as the three top scorers of 2025.
One way of putting such ludicrous numbers into their proper context: Kane, Haaland and Mbappe have scored 11, nine and nine league goals so far in 2025/26; the closest players to them are Julian Alvarez and Antoine Semenyo, who both have six.
The European Golden Shoe – and World Cup Golden Boot – race
The last three winners of the European Golden Shoe are, unsurprisingly, Mbappe, Kane and Haaland.
Mbappe is the current incumbent after scoring 31 La Liga goals for Real in 2024/25. He took the mantle from Kane, who struck 36 times in the Bundesliga for Bayern in 2023/24. That came after Haaland inspired Manchester City to the Treble with a record-shattering 36 Premier League goals in 2022/23.
A quirk of national leagues starting at different times and some being much further along than others skews the current European Golden Shoe rankings, with 35-year-old NSI Runavik forward Klaemint Olsen the current leader on 26 goals as things stand.
It does help ever so slightly that his exploits have come in the Faroe Islands Premier League, which only has two more rounds of games to play rather than about seven-and-a-half more months.
The weighting of European Golden Shoe points is ultimately in favour of more prestigious leagues like those in England, Germany and Spain, so Kane is 7th, Haaland is 11th and Mbappe is 12th even at this early stage.
And this preposterous continental race which puts them among the favourites to win the Ballon d’Or is likely to escalate into a global clash for World Cup supremacy too.
England have already qualified for the expanded tournament in North America, with France and Norway both comfortably leading their groups heading into the final round of games.
As the 2018 Golden Boot winner, Kane will be among the favourites to claim the award again. The same can be said for 2022 winner Mbappe. But no player has ever won the World Cup Golden Boot twice and Haaland might well insist upon it being his turn in 2026.
Why has Haaland been so good this season?
It leads to a simple question: what has prompted this sudden outbreak of mutual goalscoring absurdity?
Haaland himself believes at least part of the reason to be quite simple in his case, having recently become a father to Roy Keane’s mortal enemy.
“I have never felt better than I do now,” he said earlier this month. “It is about preparation, getting ready for the games. You can be physically ready but you need to be mentally ready.
“With a kid it makes me even better because I disconnect more than ever – I don’t think about football at all. When you are young you think of this and that and maybe worry about things but when I get home I relax even more. I think I need to give a shout-out to my son.”
He added, having been asked about any personal competition with former Premier League rival Kane: “Don’t forget Mbappe as well, he had a great start as well. They’re doing amazing, so I need to keep up.”
So there’s the secret to reaching historic levels of goalscoring: procreation.
Why has Kane been so good this season?
The 32-year-old is now a fully-fledged 12-season wonder but he has taken things entirely too far in 2025/26.
“It’s the best start to any season I’ve ever had for sure,” he told the Daily Mail this week. “I just feel really good. I’ve been here in Munich for a couple of years now and everything’s settled off the pitch. My wife and kids are happy and that all contributes.
“Physically, I’m in a good place. Mentally, I’m at that age now where I’ve got loads of experience. And I’m excited because I’m playing in a team that creates loads of chances and I know that if I get chances, I’m going to score.”
Kane also acknowledged the impact Bayern manager Vincent Kompany has had on his game.
“He is a fantastic coach, not just tactically but also as a person. We’re very similar in our mindset when it comes to working as a team. Full credit to him because from the moment he came in, there were question marks about what he would bring and he’s been absolutely fantastic.
“One thing that stands out is more one-touch play around the box. When you’re at a team like Bayern, you’re going to come up against teams with low blocks that defend deep.
“I’m someone who likes to turn on the ball and play forward passes but that’s not always possible, so we’ve spoken a lot about opening my body, playing around the corner quickly with one-touch. I feel like I’ve added to my game – not getting stuck on the ball as much, and a bit more fluidity.”
The lesson here? A happy family life, but also playing for a manager who helped relegate Burnley.
Why has Mbappe been so good this season?
Considering a debut Real Madrid campaign which flirted with catastrophe ended with him breaking all manner of Bernabeu records, it should perhaps come as no surprise that 26-year-old Mbappe has elevated his performance levels to new heights this season.
“I have settled in Madrid, I’m a little more relaxed there,” he said recently. “This isn’t an attack on France. The lifestyle is different, it’s less hectic than in Paris. I’ve managed to get my head and legs back in place.
“It’s a new season, we’ve been able to rest more and prepare better. I’ve started the season well. It’s just the start of a very long season. I started well, I put all the ingredients in place to start well.
“We’re feeling good with the team. We’re understanding what the coach is asking of us. I’ve also started well with the national team. I think I can improve and I’m working towards that.”
Imagine what he might achieve when he has a kid and Real appoint Scott Parker.
