Who could win the Golden Boot at the Qatar World Cup 2022?
Teams have entered the knockout stages of the World Cup in Qatar, with players competing not only for the title for their country, but also for the prestigious Golden Boot for themselves.
The Golden Boot is awarded to an individual player with the most goals scored in the tournament and in the event of a goal scored tie, a player’s number of assists will be taken into account.
If players are tied on both counts, the winner is determined by who played the fewest minutes.
England captain Harry Kane collected the trophy at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where he scored six goals and led his team to the semi-finals.
Here’s a snapshot of the top contenders for the Golden Boot at the 2022 World Cup:
The 23-year-old scored against Australia in his side’s first Group D match and picked up a second-half double against Denmark as France clinched their spot in the knockouts.
He failed to find the net as Tunisia recorded a famous defeat in their final group game, but added two more goals to his tally in a 3-1 win against Poland on Sunday.
The Atletico Madrid sharpshooter has scored in all three of Spain’s Group E matches, including one off the bench against 2014 champions, Germany.
Sent off from the starting line-up by Marco Asensio in his side’s opening two World Cup matches, Morata netted Spain’s fifth goal in their 7-0 thrashing against Costa Rica before coming off goal himself to score a . to complete one sided opener. .
He put Luis Enrique’s team ahead in their final group game, but the 2010 champions were beaten as Japan made their second stunning turnaround of the tournament, advancing to the last 16 in first place.
The English striker had a dream start to his World Cup campaign in Qatar.
Rashford’s place in the side was uncertain a few months ago due to form and fitness, but the Manchester United striker has risen in the Golden Boot standings after scoring twice in England’s defeat to a Gareth Bale-led away side Wales.
Rashford’s teammates Phil Foden, Jack Grealish (both Manchester City), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Chelsea) and Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund) were also on the scoresheet during the group stage.
Rashford started on the bench in England’s 3–0 win over Senegal in the last 16, coming on in the 65th minute to replace Saka, but failed to score. Saka’s goal against Senegal put him level with Rashford on three goals for the tournament.
The Dutch striker has so far managed to find the net in Qatar on a regular basis, as the Netherlands progressed to the last 16 after finishing top of Group A.
However, Gakpo was unable to add to his tally in the Netherlands’ 3-1 victory over the USA in the last 16.
The 23-year-old has been influential in his club PSV Eindhoven’s run to the knockout stages of the Europa League and has been the subject of transfer speculation with top European clubs reportedly vying for his signature when the transfer window opens next summer.
The great Argentine is playing in what he believes will probably be his last World Cup.
The 35-year-old opened his account by burying a penalty in a shock Group C defeat to Saudi Arabia, before scoring and assisting Enzo Fernandez in an emotionally charged victory over Mexico.
Messi also scored in Argentina’s 2-1 win over Australia in the last 16, putting his side ahead on 35 minutes with a coolly taken low blow for his 94th international goal.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has had a career full of trophies at club level and his fans around the world are hoping that this time he can finally help deliver a World Cup for his country.
Messi’s rival Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal became the first player to score in five World Cups when he scored against Ghana in their Group H opener.
Portugal’s run at the World Cup in Qatar has been somewhat clouded by the controversy surrounding Ronaldo and his acrimonious departure from Manchester United.
But his former club-mate, 28-year-old Bruno Fernandes, has stepped out of Ronaldo’s shadow to score twice against Uruguay after netting two goals in Portugal’s 3-2 win against Ghana.
Player Team Goals Assists Games Minutes
Kylian Mbappe France 5 2 4 297
Alvaro Morata Spain 3 1 3 126
Lionel Messi Argentina 3 1 4 360
Marcus Rashford England 3 0 4 132
Bukayo Saka England 3 0 3 214
Cody Gakpo Netherlands 3 0 4 343
Olivier Giroud France 3 0 3 227
Bruno Fernandes Portugal 2 2 2 180
Cho Gue-sung South Korea 2 0 3 196
Andrej Kramaric Croatia 2 0 3 208
Ferran Torres Spain 2 0 3 144
Breel Embolo Switzerland 2 0 3 238
Julian Alvarez Argentina 2 0 4 208
Richarlison Brazil 2 0 2 152
* Statistics as of December 4, 2022
