World Cup Golden Ball Winner Odds

First introduced in 1982, the Golden Ball award is presented to the player who is considered to have been the best player at a FIFA World Cup tournament.

A shortlist of the best players is drawn up by the FIFA technical committee (Technical Study Group), with the winner being voted for by representatives of the media. Players from seven different nationalities have won the award so far, with Italy, Brazil and Argentina the most successful (two different players from each country have won it). And at this year’s World Cup, some of world football’s best players will be in Qatar to represent their countries once again. Here are the most likely players to win the Golden Ball award…

After playing a starring role in leading France to what was their second World Cup triumph back in 2018, Kylian Mbappe will be hoping to do the same once again at this year's tournament.

Mbappe scored four goals in Russia for his country, including France's fourth in the final to ultimately secure the trophy at the expense of Croatia, with his other goals coming in the form of a brace in the round-of-16 against Argentina and one against Peru in the group stages – these exploits ultimately secured him the tournament's Best Young Player award.

He will look to replicate that kind of form in Qatar, and considering the form that Mbappe has been in domestically (18 goals and five assists in 19 appearances in all competitions), expect him to be one of the contenders for the award.

At 35 years of age, this World Cup will surely be the last one for Lionel Messi. Unless Messi is still playing when the next World Cup rolls around, by which point he will be almost 40 years old, it's safe to say that this will be the last World Cup tournament for the legendary Argentine.

Because this is his last tournament, Messi will be doing his utmost to ensure that he can finally lift the one trophy that has eluded him throughout his career. In 2018, Messi bagged just one goal for his country in football's biggest competition, so with this being his last chance, could we see him produce his best-ever form at the most important time?

Messi's best-ever goal tally at a World Cup is four which he achieved back in 2014 (a tournament in which he also won the Golden Ball award), and he will need to produce similar form to be in with a chance of winning the award again.

Karim Benzema missed out on a winners medal in France's victorious 2018 campaign, with the striker mired in off-pitch controversy. But, he has the chance to rectify that now, after being called up for this year's tournament by Didier Deschamps.

With the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele able to supply him from wide areas, it could prove to be a very rewarding campaign for Benzema goal-wise. The last time Benzema played at a World Cup (2014), he was his country's top scorer with three goals, so considering the fact that the French squad now is a much better one compared to the 2014 squad, Benzema could prove to be one of the tournament's best players and help France to another World Cup.

The first midfielder on this list, Kevin De Bruyne will be central to Belgium's efforts to be crowned winners at this World Cup.

Roberto Martinez’s men have long been described as the country's "Golden Generation", but they have failed to win any silverware to back that claim up, with Belgium’s best World Cup finish a third-place finish in 2018.

The closest the Belgians have come to an international trophy is when they finished runners-up to Italy in the final of Euro 1980. So this tournament represents perhaps the last chance for the country at a trophy due to the Golden Generation ageing, and De Bruyne will certainly have a big part to play.

De Bruyne will be Belgium's key man in midfield, and just like at club level, he will be responsible for dictating play and setting up his teammates for goals. Romelu Lukaku, who got four goals in 2018, and Eden Hazard, who had a great campaign personally in 2018, will need De Bruyne at his best if Belgium are to stand a chance at going far in this World Cup.

Neymar has had mixed fortunes in previous World Cups, with an impressive tally of four goals in 2014, but he was ruled out of the semi-finals (which Brazil went on to lose) with a back injury, and it's arguable that Brazil would have been a different team had they had their star forward available.

And in 2018, Neymar contributed a respectable two goals but Brazil did exit the tournament in the quarter-finals, with Neymar leaving the tournament amid criticism of his exaggerated reactions to being fouled. So in what will be his third World Cup finals appearance, could Neymar finally lead his country to success?

There have been credible reports that this tournament will be Neymar's last internationally, with the forward himself "I do not know whether or not this will be my last World Cup. I don't know whether I will be able to mentally endure more soccer" in an interview in October last year.

With this looking to be Neymar’s last tournament and if he can put in consistently good performances, then he could end December with not only a World Cup but with an individual accolade like the Golden Ball.

Harry Kane will be England's main man as they once again go for glory at international level under Gareth Southgate.

The Tottenham striker has been key to England's impressive runs in their last two international tournaments - with Kane scoring six goals at the 2018 World Cup as England made it to the semi-finals, being rewarded with the competition's Golden Boot.

At Euro 2020, Kane carried on his impressive international goalscoring form with four goals as England ultimately finished runners-up. Kane has been key to England's impressive international tournament showings in recent years, so expect him to once again be among the goals this year, and so if he has a great tournament goalscoring-wise, he could even end up winning the best player award.

An outsider for the award in comparison to all the other players here, but with consistently fantastic performances at club level for Real Madrid, including scoring the winner in last season's Champions League final, Vinicius Jr could carry on that form into what will be his first World Cup for his country.

Because it is his first World Cup, Vinicius will want to make sure that he makes an impact as he has been doing for Madrid. He will be hoping for a World Cup finals debut akin to Pele's impressive showing at the 1958 edition, when the then 17-year-old bagged six goals - 22-year-old Vinicius will look to make a similar impact.

Like his long-time rival Lionel Messi, this is very likely to be the last World Cup that Cristiano Ronaldo will ever play due to his age; And because he has failed to win the trophy throughout his glittering career, we should expect Ronaldo to give it his all at the tournament in search of that elusive World Cup medal.

Ronaldo has had mixed fortunes on the international stage, bagging just one goal at both the 2010 and 2014 tournaments. But Ronaldo has shown better form at recent tournaments – scoring three goals to help his country to European Championship glory in 2016, and scoring four goals at the 2018 World Cup and five at Euro 2020.

So, could Ronaldo carry on that kind of goalscoring form to help Portugal go far in this World Cup, potentially bagging not only the Golden Ball, but also football’s ultimate prize?