FIFA World Cup 2022 : Golden Boot and Golden Ball Contenders , Earlier Winners

by

The FIFA World Cup 2022 final will see Argentina face France match at the Lusail Iconic Stadium on Sunday, December 18. at 10am ET. The final faceoff is projected to be star forward Lionel Messi’s last chance to add the World Cup to his illustrious career.  

Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, with five World Cup goals each, are the top scorers at the FIFA World Cup 2022. Olivier Giroud and Julian Alvarez are both third in the list with 4 World Cup goals each. The Paris Saint-Germain teammates reached their five goals each by playing six matches in the group stage, Round of 16, quarterfinals and semifinals.

Besides the competition at the team level, Messi and Kylian Mbappe have emerged as the top contenders for the Golden Boot, awarded to the player with the most scores. They also are competing for the Golden Ball, the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award.

 

Qatar 2022 top Goalscorers

5 goals

Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 3 assists, 570 minutes played

Kylian Mbappe (France) – 2 assists, 477 minutes played

4 goals

Julian Alvarez (Argentina) – 0 assists, 364 minutes played

Olivier Giroud (France) – 0 assists, 383 minutes played

3 goals

Goncalo Ramos (Portugal) * Alvaro Morata (Spain) * Marcus Rashford (England) * Enner Valencia (Ecuador) * Bukayo Saka (England) * Richarlison (Brazil) * Cody Gakpo (Netherlands) *

According to FIFA Golden Boot criteria is :

The Golden Boot will be awarded to the player who scores the most goals in the final competition. 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. A Silver Boot and a Bronze Boot will also be awarded for the second and third-highest goal scorers, respectively.

AS per FIFA’s rule If Mbappe and Messi fail to score in the final match, or anyone else ties with the same number of goals, the Golden Boot will be given to the player with the fewest penalties, as per FIFA rules. 

As Messi has currently scored three penalties, one each against Saudi Arabia, Croatia, and the Netherlands, Messi will automatically win the Golden Boot award. 

Mbappe will miss his chance as he has scored all of his goals from outside the box. In another case, if Messi and Mbappe tied, the player with the most assists would win the award.

According FIFA Golden ball criteria is :

The Golden Ball is bestowed upon the Most Valuable Player at the World Cup and again features a more subjective selection process, with select members of the global media voting on a shortlist of contenders drawn up by the FIFA technical committee.

While the definitive outcome may depend on the result in the final, it’s safe to suggest that Messi and Mbappe are the two main contenders for 2022 award thanks to the moments of match-winning genius they’ve provided along the way.

Top Contenders for Golden Boot and Golden Ball are :

PlayersCountryGoalsAssistsMinutes played
Lionel MessiArgentina53570
Kylian MbappeFrance52477
Olivier GiroudFrance40383
Julian AlvarezArgentina40364

Golden Boot winners

1930: Guillermo Stabile (8 goals)

1934: Oldrich Nejedly (5)

1938: Leonidas da Silva (7)

1950: Ademir de Menezes (9)

1954: Sandor Kocsis (11)

1958: Just Fontaine, France (13)

1962: Florian Albert, Garrincha, Valentin Ivanov, Drazan Jerkovic, Leonel Sanchez and Vava (4)

1966: Eusebio (9)

1970: Gerd Muller (10)

1974: Grzegorz Lato (7)

1978: Mario Kempes (6)

1982: Paolo Rossi (6)

1986: Gary Lineker (6)

1990: Toto Schillaci (6)

1994: Oleg Salenko and Hristo Stoichkov (6)

1998: Davor Suker (6)

2002: Ronaldo (8)

2006:Miroslav Klose (5)

2010: Thomas Muller (5)

2014: James Rodriguez

(6) 2018: Harry Kane (6)

Leave a Comment