by The 2022 FIFA World Cup features 32 nations competing in the biggest football event in Qatar, the first World Cup ever to be held in the Middle East. This year marks the last edition of the tournament with a field of 32 nations – that number is set to rise to 48 for the 2026 World Cup, which will have venues in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
This year’s Copa Mundial looks different for several reasons, including the dates (due to Qatar’s intense summer heat, the schedule has been moved to November-December instead of the traditional summer schedule). But as always, the event features the world’s best fútbol nations vying for global glory and individual awards for the best players, including the coveted award for attacking players – the Golden Boot.
At the latest iteration of the World Cup, that of England Harry Kane, also a star of Premier League side Tottenham, he took home the award thanks to his six goals, which probably helped cushion the blow of the Three Lions’ 2-0 defeat by Belgium in the third-place match. One of the top storylines to watch at this year’s World Cup is the swan song for two of the game’s biggest stars: the Argentinian Lionel Messi and of Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo.
Neither player has ever won the Golden Boot and neither team has won the World Cup during their tenure, but Messi is 90 minutes away from doing both. Defending champions France have contenders for the award including Kylian Mbappe And Olivier Giroud.
For more information on the latest Golden Boot standings, odds and predictions during the tournament, follow ProSoccerTalk and NBC Sports Edge.
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What is the Golden Boot?
The Golden Boot is the prize awarded to the top scorer of each edition of the World Cup. If at the end of the tournament two or more players are at the top of the table with the same number of goals, the prize will go to the player with the most non-penalty goals, and if they are still tied, it will go to the player with the most number of assists. While there has always been a top scorer at the tournament, the specific prize has been awarded since 1982. It was known as “The Golden Shoe” until its renaming in 2010.
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Who are the top scorers at the 2022 World Cup?
1. Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 5 (leads tiebreaker with 3 assists vs. Mbappé’s 2)
2. Kylian Mbappe (France) – 5
3. Olivier Giroud (France) – 4
4. Julian Alvarez (Argentina) – 4
5. Marcus Rashford (England) – 3
6. Alvaro Morata (Spain) – 3
7. Enner Valencia (Ecuador) – 3
8. Bukayo Saka (England) – 3
9. Richarlison (Brazil) – 3
10. Goncalo Ramos (Portugal) – 3
11. Cody Gakpo (Netherlands) – 3
12. Mehdi Taremi (Iran) – 2
13. Bruno Fernandes (Portugal) – 2
14. Mohammed Kudus (Ghana) – 2
15. Cho Gue-Sung (South Korea) – 2
16. Breel Embolo (Switzerland) – 2
17. Salem Al Dawsari (Saudi Arabia) – 2
18. Aleksandar Mitrovic (Serbia) – 2
19. Kai Havertz (Germany) – 2
20. Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon) – 2
21. Niclas Fullkrug (Germany) – 2
22. Ritsu Doan (Japan) – 2
23. Giorgian de Arrascaeta (Uruguay) – 2
24. Andrej Kramaric (Croatia) – 2
25. Robert Lewandowski (Poland) – 2
26. Ferran Torres (Spain) – 2
27. Wout Weghorst (Netherlands) – 2
28. Rafael Leao (Portugal) – 2
All previous Golden Boot winners (1982-2018)
1982: Paolo Rossi (ITA) – 6
1986: Gary Lineker (GBR) – 6
1990: Salvatore Schillaci – 6
1994: Oleg Salenko (RUS) / Hristo Stoichkov (BUL) – 6
1998: Davor Suker (CRO) – 6
2002: Ronaldo (BRA) – 8
2006 – Miroslav Klose (GER) – 5
2010 – Thomas Muller (GER) – 5
2014 – James Rodriguez (COL) – 6
2018 – Harry Kane (GBR) – 6
When is the 2022 World Cup?
The World Cup kicks off on Sunday 20 November with host nation Qatar taking on Ecuador in the opener. The group stage will conclude on 3 December before the start of the round of 16. The final is scheduled for Sunday 18 December.
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World Cup 2022 schedule, start time, dates, how to watch live
- When: From 20 November 2022 to 18 December 2022
- Group stage matches start times: 5am, 8am, 10am, 11am, 2pm (all ET)
- Position: Qatar
- TV channels in Spanish: Telemundo, Universe, Peacock
- Streaming in Spanish: Peacock (all 64 games)
Follow ProSoccerTalk for the latest World Cup 2022 news, scores, storylines and updates, and be sure to subscribe to NBC Sports on YouTube!
