FIFA's latest standings place Mbappe at the top of the scoring chart after the French forward netted his eighth goal during France's quarter-final victory over Morocco. In addition to his goals, Mbappe has also registered three assists, giving him the edge over Messi, who has scored the same number of goals but provided two assists.
The governing body's ranking means the France skipper currently leads the race for one of the tournament's most prestigious individual awards, although the battle remains wide open with the semi-finals and potentially the final still to come.
Norway striker Erling Haaland remains firmly in contention after scoring twice in his country's quarter-final win over Brazil. His brace lifted his tally to seven goals, leaving him just one behind the tournament's leading duo.
England pair Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane occupy fourth and fifth positions respectively. Both players have scored six goals and contributed one assist each, keeping their hopes of challenging for the Golden Boot alive.
France winger Ousmane Dembele sits sixth with five goals and two assists, while Senegal's Ismaila Sarr, Mexico's Julian Quinones, Brazil's Vinicius Junior and Spain's Mikel Oyarzabal are level on four goals each.
FIFA also clarified the criteria used to separate players who finish with the same number of goals.
According to a statement published on the football body's website on Sunday, the Golden Boot will be awarded to the tournament's highest goalscorer.
"If two or more players score the same number of goals, the number of assists (as determined by the members of the FIFA Technical Study Group) shall be decisive.
"If two or more players are still equal after taking into account the number of assists, the total minutes played in the tournament will be taken into account, with the player playing fewer minutes ranked first," FIFA said.
As things stand, Mbappe also holds an advantage over Messi in terms of playing time, having featured for fewer minutes during the tournament, which would become the second tie-breaker if both players finish level on goals and assists.
Top 10 adidas Golden Boot standings after the quarter-finals:
- Kylian Mbappe (France) – 8 goals, 3 assists
- Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 8 goals, 2 assists
- Erling Haaland (Norway) – 7 goals
- Jude Bellingham (England) – 6 goals, 1 assist
- Harry Kane (England) – 6 goals, 1 assist
- Ousmane Dembele (France) – 5 goals, 2 assists
- Ismaila Sarr (Senegal) – 4 goals, 1 assist
- Julian Quinones (Mexico) – 4 goals, 1 assist
- Vinicius Junior (Brazil) – 4 goals, 1 assist
- Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) – 4 goals, 1 assist