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The race for the Golden Boot is well underway in Qatar, as 11 players have now scored at least two goals.

Enner Valencia, a longshot to win the award this year, scored a pair of goals in the first match of the tournament last Sunday as Ecuador cruised past Qatar. He now has three goals through two matches.

Kylian Mbappe, the recipient of the Best Young Player at the FIFA World Cup in 2018, is the only other player with three goals.

Others with two goals include Alvaro Morata (Spain), Medhi Taremi (Iran), Lionel Messi (Argentina), and Bukayo Saka (England). Check out FIFA World Cup Props so you don’t miss the opportunity to bet on the Golden Boot contenders to win the award.

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Golden Boot Betting Analysis, Odds, and Picks

The Golden Boot, like the Golden Ball (which is awarded to the best overall player), was first introduced at the 1982 World Cup and given to the player with the most goals in the tournament.

Paolo Rossi of Italy won the award with six goals in 1982, and subsequent winners have included Gary Lineker (1986), Ronaldo (2002), and Thomas Muller (2010). It has taken at least five goals to win the award in every World Cup, and no player has won the award twice.

Tournament Opening Odds

Harry Kane (+800)
Kylian Mbappe (+850)
Lionel Messi (+1100)
Neymar (+1200)
Karim Benzema (+1400)

Updated Betting Odds

Can Mbappe Win the Golden Ball and Golden Boot?

Mbappe broke through in a major way at the 2018 World Cup and is proving himself one of the best players in the world in Qatar. He has three goals through two matches and has been in a class all by himself on the French side. He’s clearly one of the most dangerous forwards in the tournament.

France’s final Group Stage game is against Tunisia, so he could add another goal or two to his total before the Round of 16.

Mbappe already has seven World Cup goals and has yet to turn 24 years old. He’s nine goals away from tying Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 career World Cup goals. If he can score a few more in Qatar, there’s reason to believe he could eventually challenge for that record.

He is also the betting favorite to win the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player.

Messi and Ronaldo – One Last Hurrah?

Messi and Ronaldo will go down as two of the greatest strikers of all time. They battled for the title of the best player in the world for more than a decade (either Messi or Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or in all but one year from 2008 to 2021) and are clearly on the last leg of their respective careers, yet they’ve both scored at this World Cup and are certainly in contention to score the most goals – Messi has two, while Ronaldo became the first player in history to score in five WCs when he scored on a penalty kick against Ghana.

Ronaldo plays his second match Monday against Uruguay, while Messi plays his third match Wednesday against Poland. Both Portugal and Argentina are in good positions to advance to the Round of 16.

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