World Cup Golden Boot Draft
(image via Getty Images)
The 2026 FIFA World Cup gets underway today and we, along with everyone in Houston, are beyond excited.
To add some fun to a tournament that needs no more intrigue, we did a Golden Boot draft, with three of our Bayou City staff along with our friends César Procel from TUDN, David Castro from CG Sports Media, and Luis Ortiz from KHOU. The draft was a six-round snake draft, with each team selecting six players. At the end of the tournament, whichever team has the most goals (with assists serving as the tiebreaker) will be declared the winner.
Here's how things played out.
Round 1
(image via Fox Sports)
César Procel
Round 1, Pick 1 – Erling Haaland (Norway)
César : Haaland was the top scorer in his league with Manchester City, although he's never played on the big stage, he's in a group against Iraq and Senegal where he could take advantage early on in the tournament.
David Castro
Round 1, Pick 2 – Luis Diaz (Colombia)
David: 26 club goals this season and he arrives in elite form after a great season with Bayern Munich.
Rudy Segura
Round 1, Pick 3 – Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Rudy: Messi is likely playing his final international tournament with Argentina as they look for back to back titles. They have one of the most favorable groups in the tournament and I can see Messi scoring a lot of goals because of it.
Luis Ortiz
Round 1, Pick 4 – Harry Kane (England)
Luis: The top scorer this season with 36. He's a top 9 and has an England squad full of talent. Against Ghana and Panama, I think he can do some damage.
Joey Chabala
Round 1, Pick 5 – Kylian Mbappe
Joey: Mbappe is on the verge of being France and the World Cup's all time top scorer. After a troubled club season he'll have a point to prove and has all the talent in the world around him to get him the ball
Dustyn Richardson
Round 1, Pick 6 – Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain)
Dustyn: Spain has talent all over the pitch but it will be Oyarzabal leading the line and taking advantage from the service from all the world-class players around him.
Round 2
(image via Copa America)
Dustyn Richardson
Round 2, Pick 7 – Julian Alvarez (Argentina)
Dustyn: Argentina is still Messi’s team but Alvarez will be the focal part of the attack. He’s rumored for a big-money club move this summer so I expect him to show out for all his suitors.
Joey Chabala
Round 2, Pick 8 – Kai Havertz (Germany)
Joey: German strikers have a track of record of scoring lots of goals in the World Cup and Havertz might be the most versatile one they've ever had. He can beat you in multiple ways and gets Curaçao in game one where we could see an avalanche of goals.
Luis Ortiz
Round 2, Pick 9 – Lamine Yamal (Spain)
Luis: Spain is one of the favorites and he will showcase his magic.
Rudy Segura
Round 2, Pick 10 – Michael Olise (France)
Rudy: Olise scored 15 goals and added 19 assists this season with Bayern Munich. He is a winger that is not afraid to run at goal and create opportunities for himself. There is a reason why Real Madrid is looking at signing him and he scored a hat trick in France last friendly before the World Cup tournament.
David Castro
Round 2, Pick 11 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
David: Portugal has a favorable group which could give him a lot of scoring opportunities.
César Procel
Round 2, Pick 12 – Raphinha (Brazil)
César: Raphinha was the top scorer for Brazil during the qualifiers with 5 goals, in a team with great players and a group with teams like Scotland and Haiti, he might break some records.
Round 3
(image via Getty Images)
César Procel
Round 3, Pick 13 – Goncalo Ramos (Portugal)
César : Ramos is one of the up and coming stars for Portugal. He's young, he's hungry and has tasted glory. Against squads like Congo and Uzbekistan he's likely to leave a mark if he gets the minutes.
David Castro
Round 3, Pick 14 – Vinicius Jr. (Brazil)
David: I'm just going to go with the fact that this guy is always an explosive threat.
Rudy Segura
Round 3, Pick 15 – Kenan Yildiz (Turkiye)
Rudy: Messi is likely playing his final international tournament with Argentina as they look for back to back titles. They have one of the most favorable groups in the tournament and I can see Messi scoring a lot of goals because of it.
Luis Ortiz
Round 3, Pick 16 – Lautaro Martinez (Argentina)
Luis: He underperformed at the last World Cup and will play with a chip on his shoulder. Messi will be more of a distributor this tournament.
Joey Chabala
Round 3, Pick 17 – Ousmane Dembele (France)
Joey: Dembele is chasing his second Ballon d’Or in a row following another Champions League title. He will likely be France's primary striker, pushing Mbappe out wide. France are just set up to score loads of goals.
Dustyn Richardson
Round 3, Pick 18 – Cody Gakpo (Netherlands)
Dustyn: Gakpo is going to be the primary goal scorer for a Dutch team that doesn’t have many offensive options.
Round 4
(image via Diego Souto/Getty Images)
Dustyn Richardson
Round 4, Pick 19 – Bruno Fernandes (Portugal)
Dustyn: This might be a bit of homer pick, as a Manchester United supporter, but Bruno is in the form of his life. He just broke the Premier League single-season assist record but he can add some goals for Portugal in this tournament.
Joey Chabala
Round 4, Pick 20 – Igor Thigao (Brazil)
Joey: Thiago is one of the most in form strikers at the tournament following finishing second in the golden boot standings in England. All he has to do is finish the chances Raphina and Vinicius Jr set up for him on a plate.
Luis Ortiz
Round 4, Pick 21 – Endrick (Brazil)
Luis: He'll be the breakout player of the tournament. He’s finally happy and enjoying football again after being loaned to Lyon. He didn't score many goals there but there's a difference between playing for the French club and Brazil.
Rudy Segura
Round 4, Pick 22 – Ferran Torres (Spain)
Rudy: Torres is one of Spain's most experienced players and one of their captains. He scored 21 goals in all competitions with Barcelona this season and could be the guy that helps Spain to lead the charge for their second World Cup title.
David Castro
Round 4, Pick 23 – Marcus Thuram (France)
David: Kolo Muani is out and everyone is going to try to cover Mbappe, which will open up opportunities for Thuram for France.
César Procel
Round 4, Pick 24 – Brian Gutierrez (Mexico)
César: Young, hungry and has been a staple in Mexico's offense. If Vasco allows him to work his magic, he might break the bank.
Round 5
(image via Getty Images)
César Procel
Round 5, Pick 25 – Giuliano Simeone (Argentina)
César : He showed character in the prep games, particularly against Iceland. If he gets the minutes, we might see some magic happen.
David Castro
Round 5, Pick 26 – Romelu Lukaku (Belgium)
David: He is Belgium's all-time leading goalscorer and he is the focal point of Belgium's offense.
Rudy Segura
Round 5, Pick 27 – Enner Valencia (Ecuador)
Rudy: The old man tends to show up in the big moments and if Ecuador is a team that people think might surprise everyone, then I believe that Valencia's goals are the big reason why.
Luis Ortiz
Round 5, Pick 28 – Joao Felix (Portugal)
Luis: 20 goals and 13 assists this season and he built chemistry with CR7. If Cristiano is not scoring, or all attention is on him, Felix will be free to do the damage for Portugal.
Joey Chabala
Round 5, Pick 29 – Jeremy Doku (Belgium)
Joey: Doku ended the season in flying form for Manchester City. Belgium have the easiest group in the tournament with layup games against Egypt and New Zealand. Expect him to be their main attacking piece.
Dustyn Richardson
Round 5, Pick 30 – Luis Javier Suarez (Colombia)
Dustyn: Not that Luis Suarez. The Colombian Suarez scored buckets of goals for Sporting CP in Portugal this season and he’s ready to show out on the world stage.
Round 6
(image via IMAGO/Agencia-MexSport)
Dustyn Richardson
Round 6, Pick 31 – Bukayo Saka (England)
Dustyn: The Arsenal winger will mostly be feeding Harry Kane but he should also get some chances to score himself.
Joey Chabala
Round 6, Pick 32 – Donyell Malen (Netherlands)
Joey: The hottest striker in Italy with 15 goals in his last 20 games since joining Roma in January. He will lead the line for a good Netherlands team that should go far in the tournament.
Luis Ortiz
Round 6, Pick 33 – Julian Quiñones (Mexico)
Luis: The second leading scorer in all of world football. Mexico will be one of the surprises of the tournament and has a fairly easy group.
Rudy Segura
Round 6, Pick 34– Breel Embolo (Switzerland)
Rudy: He is an opportunist striker who can also create his own luck. I think he will get on the board from match day one and help Switzerland top their group.
David Castro
Round 6, Pick 35 – Nico Williams (Spain)
David: Just like Mbappe, I believe Yamal is going to be heavily marked which will allow Nico to be open for multiple scoring opportunities.
César Procel
Round 6, Pick 36 – Brahim Diaz (Morocco)
César: Although not a starter with Real Madrid, he's top flight for Morocco. He's got a great opportunity for a hat trick or better against Haiti and Scotland.
Who picked the better team? Let us know in the comments, and check back after the tournament is over to see who wins!
