It’s been a good start for Arsenal’s stars at the World Cup
Kai Havertz scored a brace for Germany in their World Cup opener against Curacao and the Arsenal forward has been backed to win the Golden Boot.
The 27-year-old calmly scored from the spot in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage-time before he added a second to his own tally with two minutes to go as he chipped the ball over goalkeeper Eloy Room. Germany ran out 7-1 winners in Houston with Felix Nmecha, Nico Schlotterbeck, Jamal Musiala, Nathaniel Brown and Deniz Undav also on the scoresheet in the Group E opener.
Havertz netted seven goals in 24 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal in 2025-26, with his last coming in their Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. His campaign was largely disrupted by injury but, now back to full fitness, the former Chelsea man looks back to his best.
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In fact, Havertz has been backed to be in the running to be the top goalscorer at the World Cup, following the likes of Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Thomas Muller. Tipster Mark O’Haire, using Grosvenor Sport’s World Cup odds, said: “Germany under Julian Nagelsmann are very gung-ho, I think they scored 28 goals in the last nine games.
“I would look at Kai Havertz, who played pretty well in the Champions League final. He will be the focal point for Germany. But they do like to share the goals around in this team, so there’s a fair argument to say you could back Florian Wirtz or Jamal Musiala at bigger prices. All three of those should really be contributing towards goals at some stage, but I think Havertz is the focal point and the penalty taker.
“I’d expect him to get at least four goals in this competition, and if he gets to that in the group stages, particularly after playing Curacao, he’s going to be a contender for the Golden Boot.”
Mikel Arteta will likely be watching the World Cup very closely as he keeps an eye on members of the Arsenal squad competing at the tournament. Viktor Gyokeres also scored for Sweden against Tunisia overnight, with the Swede likely battling it out with Havertz for the No.9 spot at the Gunners next season.
