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Vie for Golden Boot tomorrow


Published : 16 Dec 2022 09:55 PM | Updated : 17 Dec 2022 05:08 PM

When Argentina and France will be in a fight for laurels to be crowned with the World Cup 2022 title tomorrow, the best footballer of each team will vie to win the Golden Boot at the same time at about 90,000- capacity Lusail Stadium.

The fight to be the top scorer to win the Golden Boot is red hot and, as things stand, Lionel Messi is the top contender with five goals when KylianMbappe is cloisely following him to be equally claimant after scoring five goals each.

While it would be a big surprise if the fellow mate of Messi Julian Alvarez of Argentina and Mbappe’s team-mate Frenchman Olivier Giroud will stun all as they are also in contention with sitting in third position in the ranking scoring four goals each.  

In the final of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, in addition to fascinating match-up between France and Argentina, it would be also a direct battle for the Golden Boot between Messi and KylianMbappe.    

Any of the Argentine or French booters are yet to earn the feat of winning the Golden Boot since the award was introduced in 1982, despite both the countries won the World Cup trophy twice, 1978 and 1986, and 1998 and 2018 respectively.      

Even during the era of Diego Maradona when Argentina won their second World Cup trophy in 1986, the Golden Boot went to Gary Lineker of England surpassing the ‘Football Great.’   

The name of Messi, who has been quoted alongside the status of Pele and Maradona and already played four World Cup since his 19 years in 2006 in Germany,is yet to win the Golden Ball.   

On the other hand, Zinedin Zidane, one of the all- time greats in the history of French football, led the team to win the World Cup in 1998 and the previous edition of the 2018, could not win the Golden Boot when KylianMbappe, who was also the member of 2018 world Cup could not win the most coveted Golden Boot.

For every football player at every FIFA World Cup has a goal of winning the most coveted trophy of the football’s biggest global showpiece when some of them also dream to win the ‘Golden Boot’.

KylianMbappe's display against Poland continues to spark praise. Aged 23, he has already scored nine goals over two World Cups, surpassing the tallies of Cristiano Ronaldo and Diego Maradona and he has drawn level with Lionel Messi.

Interestingly, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the top two popular footballers of this time won the record time BallonD’or but none of  them could get the Golden Boot for once.

Messi won the BallonDo’r, the most prestigious award for a footballer for the highest seven times when Portuguese football icon won for five times.

Since 1982, the Golden Boot award was started, two German players Miroslav Klose (five goals, in 2006) and Thomas Muller (five goals in 2014) and as many Great Britain booters, Gary Lineker (six goals in 1986 and Harry Kane six goals in 2018) won the golden boot.

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