We had storms, we had weather delays, and we had Lionel Messi making history; yesterday might have been the most dramatic day of action at this year’s World Cup.
And where Messi led the way, the likes of Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland followed with all three superstars scoring two goals in their respective games.
Today, we have two more goal machines taking to the stage. Cristiano Ronaldo is back for Portugal and Harry Kane is spearheading England as the race for the Golden Boot (the tournament’s top goalscorer) heats up. Plenty to talk about in today’s edition, including more on a viral World Cup trend and a famous superfan set to be supporting DR Congo from the stands.
The Main Thing: Assessing the runners and riders for the Golden Boot race
Before we get started, some basics. The Golden Boot is an award given to the player who scores the most goals at any given edition of the World Cup.
A host of soccer’s best have won it in the past, such as Kylian Mbappé in 2022, Harry Kane in 2018 and Ronaldo (the Brazilian one, O Fenômeno) in 2002. This year, though, there seems to be a host of superstars bidding for the title.
In truth, I can’t remember a time when all the top players were in with a shot. And while most players will say they’re not fussed about individual awards, you can bet your bottom dollar that it means more to them than they let on (Editor’s note: I’ll buy that for a dollar!).
Currently leading the Golden Boot race is Messi. The forward is now the all-time World Cup leading scorer and has five already in this edition. Behind him sits not only France’s Mbappé but also Norway’s Haaland, with both strikers having scored four this summer.
But who is most likely to win it? Let’s take a look.
The current odds suggest Messi is the favorite. The Argentine is in such brilliant goalscoring form that it’s not hard to see why. He also has the added advantage of not really having to defend for his team, meaning he can save his energy for attacking plays only. His teammates also look to pass to him at every opportunity, so he’s going to have plenty more chances as the Albiceleste threaten to go deep in this tournament.
Behind him in the pecking order is probably Mbappé. The Frenchman looks to be on electric form, and his style of play seems to lend itself to the international game – though he still scored A LOT of goals last season for Real Madrid. He’ll likely overtake Messi as the all-time record holder one day because he’s only two goals behind and is still only 27. In truth, he could even do so at this tournament.
Then you have Haaland, who on the face of it, should be the favorite. He’s arguably the most natural goalscorer, and his record simply speaks for itself.
But what could hold the 25-year-old back is the fact his nation probably won’t go as far as France or Argentina. He might simply run out of games to keep up with his Golden Boot rivals.
And then you have England’s Harry Kane, a previous winner of the award and the most in-form striker in the world last season.
If the Three Lions do well, it’s going to be because Kane keeps scoring and the captain is going to take some stopping.
He scored twice in his only game of the tournament so far and will be looking for another statement of intent when England takes on Ghana later today.
And, to round out all the most likely winners, a quick note on Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal and Germany’s Deniz Undav. Neither is traditionally on standing with the previous names, but with La Roja and the German national team likely to go far this summer, you can’t rule either of these names out.
Although not being anyone’s main focus this summer, the Golden Boot race is proving to be a fascinating subplot that will have plenty of twists and turns before the final next month.