The football World Cup is finally upon us and as well as the battle to take home the famous trophy there is also set to be a hotly- fought race to claim the much coveted Golden Boot. The award has been handed to the tournament’s top scorer in each World Cup since the showpiece event started all the way back in 1930, when Argentine Guillermo Stábile claimed the inaugural prize.
Since then, some of the biggest names in football history have won the Golden Boot, from French striker Just Fontaine with an incredible 13 goals in 1958 to Portuguese marksman Eusebio with nine goals in 1966. Brazilian legend Ronaldo claimed the Golden Boot in 2002 with eight goals, and there have been two English winners since the inception of the World Cup - Gary Lineker with six goals in 1986 and Harry Kane with six in the most recent tournament in Russia in 2018.
Kane will once again be looking to get off to a flying start in Qatar this time around when England get their campaign under way against Iran on Monday. Nobody has ever won two World Cup Golden Boots in a row, but the Tottenham and England striker will be looking to change that over the next few weeks.
Read more: How much Wales' World Cup outfits from M&S will cost you
Other names towards the top of the favourites list for the 2022 Golden Boot include some of the biggest stars in world football. Lionel Messi, widely regarded as one of the best players of all time, has never finished as top scorer in the biggest tournament of all, but he is among the favourites this time around at a price of 10/1.
His arch-rival on the world stage over the past 15 years or so, Cristiano Ronaldo, is further back in the betting at 18/1 - perhaps a reflection of his Portugal side being less fancied than Messi’s Argentina. Messi's countryman Lautaro Martinez is also among the frontrunners at 20/1, while France’s Kylian Mbappe is heavily fancied at 8/1.
Romelu Lukaku of Belgium is at 25/1, while his team-mate Kevin De Bruyne is at 50/1. Thomas Muller, who won the Golden Boot 12 years ago in South Africa with five goals, is also at 50/1 to repeat the feat this time around at the age of 33.
If you fancy Wales repeating the heroics of Euro 2016 on the world stage, I’m afraid you to have drop down the odds list quite a bit to find a Welshman. Once you do, however, there is no surprises for guessing who that man is - Gareth Bale. The Welsh wizard, now playing for Los Angeles FC after nine years at Real Madrid, is listed at 66/1 to be the top scorer in Qatar.
Sign-up text:
Betfred is offering new customers an incredible £60 worth of bonuses when you sign up and bet £10 on the World Cup!
18+ | T&C's apply | New customers only | Gamble responsibly | begambleaware.org
Below is a full list of the Golden Boot contenders and their respective odds, according to BetFred
- Harry Kane - 7/1
- Kylian Mbappe - 8/1
- Lionel Messi - 10/1
- Neymar - 12/1
- Karim Benzema - 14/1
- Cristiano Ronaldo - 18/1
- Lautaro Martinez - 20/1
- Memphis Depay - 25/1
- Romelu Lukaku - 25/1
- Vinicius Junior - 25/1
- Richarlison - 25/1
- Darwyn Nunez - 33/1
-
Antoine Griezmann - 33/1
- Alvaro Morata - 33/1
- Bruno Fernandes - 33/1
- Gabriel Jesus - 33/1
- Kai Havertz - 33/1
-
Raheem Sterling - 33/1
-
Andre Silva - 40/1
- Dusan Vlahovic - 40/1
- Ferran Torres - 40/1
-
Robert Lewandowski - 40/1
- Karim Adeyemi - 40/1
- Kevin De Bruyne - 50/1
-
Aleksandar Mitrovic - 50/1
- Raphinha - 50/1
- Serge Gnabry - 50/1
- Thomas Muller - 50/1
- Cody Gakpo - 50/1
- Gareth Bale - 66/1
Read next:
- Cardiff officially named as host city in joint bid to stage Euros
- English pundit mocks Wales and leaves Dean Saunders stunned on live radio
- Michael Sheen criticises 'inappropriate' Prince William message to England
- Doctors couldn't tell Connor Roberts' wife if he would make it during illness
- Gareth Bale heads the betting to be top scorer for Wales in Qatar
