Naturally, every four years, the Golden Boot takes precedence when it comes to individual merits at a World Cup. Its honours roll is studded with Ballon d’Or winners and nominees, attacking greats such as Gerd Muller, Paolo Rossi, and the Brazilian Ronaldo.

In its slipstream, the Golden Ball is also a highly coveted accolade, celebrating the best player at each tournament. In 2022, Lionel Messi became the first man to win the trophy on two separate occasions, a fittingly unique feat for such a special talent.

In comparison to these iconic awards, the highest assist-maker may pale somewhat in significance, it currently not being given official recognition in the form of a trophy. Yet in an era where statistics increasingly hold prominence that may change for competitions to come, while in the meantime the player who ultimately assists the most in the Americas this summer can rightfully expect wide coverage and praise.

What would obviously help its cause no end is a fascinating battle to play out, so it is gladdening to see precisely this occur across the Atlantic, as Michael Olise, Bruno Guimaraes or Martin Odegaard all vie to out-assist their peers and be acclaimed as the tournament’s creator-supreme.

After laying off a neat pass for Gabriel Martinelli’s dramatic late winner for Brazil against Japan last night, it is Newcastle’s Guimaraes who presently has his nose in front, impressively already amassing a greater tally than any player managed at Qatar ’22.

A day later, Olise assisted twice for France against Sweden in New Jersey.

World Cup 2026 Top Assist-Makers

Michael Olise, 5
Bruno Guimaraes, 4
Roberto Alvarado, 3
Martin Odegaard, 3
Alexander Isak, 3
Florian Wirtz, 3

History in the assist-making

Of course, others could quickly enter the fray, this particular race ever-evolving and potentially changing daily. In the here and now though, it is these three who are chiefly in contention for the crown, with Wirtz out of the running following Germany’s surprise exit to Paraguay.

A change in role also explains an odd quirk regarding Guimaraes’ numbers.

In his first 37 international appearances for Brazil the 28-year-old registered six assists, a decent enough tally considering he was primarily deployed as a deep-lying midfielder.  

But since the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti halfway through 2025, Guimaraes has been pushed further forward and this licence to attack has resulted in a far greater volume of goal involvements. Indeed, a quarter of his total number of assists for Brazil have come at this World Cup, from only four games.

Lastly, we arrive at Olise, the forward nominated for a Ballon d’Or in 2025, and who has again been highly impactful for Bayern Munich in the season just gone.

For France, amidst a glittering forward line packed with elite fare, the winger/playmaker has racked up seven assists since making his international bow in the autumn of 2024.

For Die Roten, he registered a remarkable 31 assists in 2025/26, including 21 in the Bundesliga and seven in the Champions League.

In doing so, he became only the fourth player in European football to break the 30-assists barrier this century.

The race to find this summer’s World Cup assist king is hotting up.