World Cup Golden Boot Odds

The first-ever winter World Cup in Qatar will host some of the biggest stars in football, many of which will be vying for the elusive World Cup Golden Boot. The top goalscorer at the first World Cup was Guillermo Stabile who scored eight goals for Uruguay at the 1930 Uruguay World Cup. The most recent Golden Boot winner was Harry Kane who scored six goals for England at the 2018 Russia World Cup.

The most goals scored to receive the Golden Boot is 13 goals, this was done by Just Fontaine for France at the 1958 Sweden World Cup, whereas the smallest number of goals scored in order to win the Golden Boot is four, where six different players were the top scorers at the 1962 Chile World Cup - Florian Albert (Hungary), Leonel Sanchez (Chile), Valentin Ivanov (Soviet Russia), Drazan Jerkovic (Yugoslavia Croatia), Garrincha and Vava (Brazil).

The most recent World Cup Golden Boot winner Harry Kane will be back with his England team hoping to go all the way after reaching the Semi-Finals in Russia.

The current captain has 51 goals for his country in 75 caps, six of those coming in a World Cup. He’s the second-highest goalscorer for England, only two goals off of all-time top scorer Wayne Rooney, who has made 45 more appearances than Kane.

Following an impressive start to the season that has seen Kane score 11 goals in 17 matches, the Three Lions captain looks likely to dethrone Rooney, Kane looks likely to win back-to-back World Cup Golden Boots.

A 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe helped France lift their second-ever World Cup, and became the only teenager other than Pele to score in a World Cup Final.

The Frenchman has started the 2022/23 season in blistering form for PSG, having bagged 16 goals and created four assists in 16 matches across all competitions.

Mbappe scored four goals at the 2018 Russia World Cup, just two behind Kane, though the youngster did pick up the Fifa World Cup Best Young Player Award. The Frenchman could help France win back-to-back World Cups and has a high likelihood of winning his first World Cup Golden Boot.

La Liga and Champions League top scorer Karim Benzema will be back with France for his second World Cup tournament after a long absence from the team.

Benzema won both La Liga and the Champions League in the 2021/22 season and will be eager to add an international trophy to his trophy cabinet. Last season, the Frenchman managed 59 goal contributions and subsequently picked up the Ballon d'Or having played a significant role in Real's successes.

The striker has 37 goals for his country, 14 less than current top scorer Thierry Henry. With a new opportunity to close the gap on Henry, Benzema has a high likelihood of winning the Golden Boot in Qatar.

Lionel Messi could also be playing at his last World Cup in Qatar, looking to finally win the biggest prize in world football, especially after coming so close in 2014, losing in extra time to Germany in the Final.

However, Messi finally won some silverware with Argentina when they won the 2021 Copa America, where Messi was the top scorer with four goals.

Messi has scored six goals in 19 appearances at the World Cup, a somewhat poor return for a goalscorer of his ability. Though, Messi can never be counted out and is likely to be in contention for the Golden Boot.

So far in the 2022/23 season, Messi has refound his form, as the PSG forward has scored 11 and created 12 assists in 16 matches.

In potentially his last-ever World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo will no doubt be aiming for the World Cup as well as the Golden Boot.

The Portuguese striker has seven goals in his 17 World Cup appearances over four different tournaments. If Ronaldo nets a goal in Qatar he could become the only player to ever score in ten senior tournaments in a row.

Ronaldo has won the Golden Boot once in the Premier League, three times in La Liga and once in Serie A, therefore Portugal’s all-time top scorer has a good chance of winning the Golden Boot in Qatar. This World Cup could be a good chance for the 37-year-old to prove his recent critics wrong by showing that he's still got it following a tough start to the 2022/23 season with Manchester United.

Though Lukaku finished the 2021/22 Premier League season as Chelsea’s top scorer in all competitions, the Belgian had a less than an ideal season.

However, Lukaku is often in much better form when playing for his country. In the 2018 Russia World Cup, Lukaku scored four goals in six games, helping Belgium all the way to the Semi-final and a third-place finish, the highest finish ever for Belgium at a World Cup.

Following a below-par season for Lukaku at Chelsea that saw him score 15 goals across all competitions, Lukaku has found life tough upon his return to Inter, scoring twice in four appearances following a number of injury issues. What must be said though, is that Lukaku's record for Belgium is outstanding, having scored 68 times in 102 appearances.

Though Memphis Depay may not be the obvious choice for Golden Boot winner in Qatar, the Barcelona striker has always been lethal in front of goal for the Netherlands.

Depay had a strong first season with Barcelona after departing Lyon where he scored 63 goals in 139 appearances. The Dutchman scored 12 goals in 28 appearances in La Liga for The Catalans. However, so far this season, Depay has played just 131 minutes worth of football for the Nou Camp club.

Depay is the second-highest scorer for the Netherlands with 42 goals, only eight behind Robin van Persie. With a group of Ecuador, Senegal and Qatar, Depay could be an underrated shout for the Golden Boot.