FIFA World Cup 2022 is all set to start in Qatar. 32 countries will participate in the biggest international tournament to fight for the title of the best. A lot of hype is there regarding the Golden Boot also. The player who scores the most number of goals at the World Cup is awarded with the coveted Golden Boot. In the early editions of World Cup, it was known as the Golden Shoe. It was rebranded as the Golden Boot in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Some legendary players have won this award over the years. In this article, we have mentioned the top Five contenders to win FIFA World Cup 2022 Golden boot. These five players have the most chances to be the highest goal scorer in Qatar.
Before going towards the Golden Boot contenders at FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar, we will take a look at the Golden Boot winners in the last ten editions of the FIFA World Cup.
FIFA World Cup Golden Boot Winners List (Last 10 editions)
| Year | Player Name | Country | Goals Scored |
| 1982 Spain | Paolo Rossi | Italy | 6 |
| 1986 Mexico | Gary Linekar | England | 6 |
| 1990 Italy | Salvatore Schillaci | Italy | 6 |
| 1994 United States | Oleg Salenko | Russia | 6 |
| 1998 France | Davor Suker | Croatia | 6 |
| 2002 South Korea/Japan | Ronaldo Nazario | Brazil | 8 |
| 2006 Germany | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 5 |
| 2010 South Africa | Thomas Muller | Germany | 5 |
| 2014 Brazil | James Rodriguez | Colombia | 6 |
| 2018 Russia | Harry Kane | England | 6 |
Top Five contenders to win FIFA World Cup 2022 Golden boot
1. Neymar Jr.
The Brazilian star is the number one contender in the list of FIFA World Cup 2022 Golden boot. His current form with PSG clearly reflects that he will be on fire in Qatar. Neymar is a skilful attacker who makes scoring goals look easy. He made his Brazil debut in 2010. At present, he is at the second place in the list of Brazil all-time top scorer. He has scored 75 goals in 121 matches for Brazil so far. Soon, he will clinch the number 1 place by surpassing Pele’s record of 77 goals. He scored four goals at 2014 World Cup and two goals at 2018 World Cup. Neymar will be the most important player in the Brazil’s squad and the team will be build around him. He will surely be the in charge to take penalties which increases his chances to be the top goal scorer at World Cup 2022.
2. Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi winning the World Cup trophy along with Golden Boot will be the perfect end to his legendary career on the international stage. Just like his teammate Neymar, Messi is also in red hot form for PSG. Messi was also the joint top scorer in Copa America 2020 along with Luis Diaz .
Messi is the all time top scorer of Argentina with his tally of 90 goals. He scored one goal in 2006, four in 2014 and one in 2018 World Cup. Argentina are also the favorites to win the World Cup this year. For that, Messi need to rise to the occasion.
3. Kylian Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe had an unforgettable debut World Cup in 2018. He also became the second-youngest player after Pele to score in a final of a World Cup. Mbappe has scored four goals in World Cup. Benzema will also be there in the attack of France but the limelight will be on Mbappe. It would be exciting to see as to who will take penalties for France at the World Cup.
4. Cristiano Ronaldo
At the age of 37 years, most players are either retired or at the end stages of their career. But here is Cristiano Ronaldo, who will be among the top contender in the race of World Cup Golden Boot at Qatar. He is not showing any signs of slowing down. It is true that he has been out of form since the start of season but one should not forget that he is a clutch players. Ronaldo continues to be one of the biggest goal-scoring threats at the moment.
He is the all-time top goal scorer in international matches. This achievement is enough to write his name in the current list of Golden Boot contenders. Ronaldo scored one goal each in 2006, 2010, 2014. In the last World Cup at Russia, he scored four goals. If Portugal manages to reach the latter stages of the tournament, then Ronaldo will surely be in contention to finish as the top scorer.
5. Harry Kane
Here comes the winner of last year’s Golden Boot. Harry Kane scored six goals in the 2018 World Cup in Russia and clinched the Golden Boot. The skipper is at second place on the England all-time scorer’s list. After facing defeat in the final of Euro 2020, England will try to win the World Cup trophy. To achieve that goal, the scoring prowess of Harry Kane is needed.
