FIFA World Cup 2022 Golden Boot: Kylian Mbappe leapfrogs Lionel Messi in a see-saw battle

The Golden Boot is one of the most sought-after awards in every edition of the FIFA World Cup for it is presented to the player with the most goals in the tournament. In the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, players from all 32 participating teams were eyeing this prestigious award.

Since its introduction in 1992, it was known as the Golden Shoe award. However, FIFA rechristened it to its current form in 2010.

However, as we are approaching the end of the group stage in the biggest sporting event in terms of fanfare, engagement and prize money the contenders for the Golden Boot Award are getting filtered out.

How are the winners of the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot Award decided?

The player with the most goals in the competition bags the award but in case of a tie between multiple players, then the tie is broken by assists.

In case two or more players have the same number of assists as well, then the tie is broken by the lowest number of minutes played.

Other Boot Awards in FIFA WC:

Top scorers at previous FIFA World Cup editions are also recognised as Golden Boot winners. The second-highest scorer at each FIFA WC wins the Silver Boot while the third-highest scorer walks away with the Bronze Boot.

Who is the first Golden Boot Winner?

Argentina's Guillermo Stabile is the first FIFA World Cup Golden Boot winner for top scoring at the 1930 FIFA World Cup in Uruguay, the inaugural edition, with eight goals.

Multiple FIFA WC Golden Boot winners until 1994

Until 1994, the Golden Boot award could be shared between multiple top scorers as the rule simply implied that the top goal scorer in the tournament will be awarded. The first instance the Golden Boot was shared among players was in the 1962 edition held in Chile.

Six players - Hungary's Florian Albert, Soviet Union's Valentin Ivanov, Brazil's Garrincha and Vava, Yugoslavia's Drazan Jerkovic and the host nation's Leonel Sanchez - finished as joint top-scorers with four goals each.

FIFA in the 1994 edition, introduced a tie-breaker system to pick out a definitive winner. The tie-breaker system stated that if two or more players ended with the same number of goals, the player with the most non-penalty goals scored wins the Golden Boot. If players were still tied, the one with more assists wins the award.

However, Russia's Oleg Salenko and Bulgaria's Hristo Stoichkov still managed to share the Golden Boot in 1994 as both finished with six goals and one assist.

Salenko, to date, remains the only FIFA World Cup Golden Boot winner whose team was eliminated in the group stages in the year that saw him win the prestigious award. He scored five goals against Cameroon and still stands as the record for the most goals scored by any player in a single FIFA World Cup match.

In the 1958 FIFA WC held in Sweden, Just Fontaine of France won the Golden Boot for scoring 13 goals. It remains the most goals scored by a player in a single FIFA World Cup edition.

No player in football history has ever won the Golden Boot twice.

Lionel Messi takes lead in FIFA WC Final

Lionel Messi takes a lead from France's Kylian Mbappe - who until the FIFA World Cup 2022 semi-final was ahead of his Paris Saint-Germain teammate, Messi - was leading the table. However, with a goal in the 22nd minute of the FIFA World Cup 2022 Final between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium on December 18, Messi took a lead with his sixth goal of the tournament. Messi scored another goal in the extra-time to score his seventh goal in the tournament.

Mbappe goes past Messi with a hat trick

Kylian Mbappe scored twice inside two minutes in 80th and 81st minute in the game and equalised for France and with that he again took the lead against Messi with 7 goals. Mbappe went on scoring a hat trick in the extra time to keep France's hopes alive in the Final and once again took the lead against Messi.

Winners of FIFA WC Golden Boot 1930-2018

Top Goal Scorers & Golden Boot Frontrunners in FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar: