In every FIFA World Cup, it’s the competition for the Golden Boot that attracts the most interest.
Introduced at the 1982 World Cup, the Golden Boot is given to the player who finishes the competition with the most goals. In the event that many players finish the tournament with the same number of goals, the player with the most goals that were not awarded as penalties would be declared the winner.
The player with the most combined goals and assists breaks the tie if there is still no other way to determine the winner.
In the first round of games, four different players scored three goals, setting the tone for a thrilling competition for this year’s Golden Boot. Through the first round of the knockout tournament, these are the top scorers.
- Kylian Mbappé (5)
- Lionel Messi (5)
- Olivier Giroud (4)
- Julián Álvarez (4)
Mbappé has scored five goals at this World Cup, putting him one goal away from tying 2018 Golden Boot winner Harry Kane. Mbappé is now in the lead and would become the first Frenchman to win the accolade if he keeps it, despite Just Fontaine setting a World Cup record with 13 goals scored in 1958.
Antoine Griezmann scored two goals at the 2018 World Cup, good for second place overall.
Both Lionel Messi (35 years old) and Olivier Giroud (36 years old) would set a record as the oldest players to ever win the award if they did. Thomas Müller of Germany, who was only 20 years old when he won the trophy in the 2010 World Cup, is the youngest player to ever win the Golden Boot.
If Müller had scored only one more goal in 2014, he would have become the first player to win the Golden Boot twice.
