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The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will bring together the planet's best forwards, some of whom are coming to the end of their careers while others are looking to enhance a growing reputation. Which of these players are likely to be in the running for the prestigious Golden Boot award for the tournament's top scorer?
Lionel Messi of PSG and Argentina
For his millions of fans, seeing 35-year-old Lionel Messi lead Argentina to the World Cup whilst scoring more goals than anyone else would be the perfect end to a glittering career on the international stage. The Golden Boot would be a symbolic way to mark his last World Cup. Yet, for all of his incredible achievements in the sport, there is little in his previous trips to the World Cup to suggest that this is going to happen.Messi has often cut a desolate, disappointed figure on the biggest stage as his teammates have failed to live up to his standards. He's scored an impressive total of 86 goals for Argentina to date, but only six at the World Cups he's played in. Could he lead the country to their third World Cup? Argentina is in good form right now, and with no clear favourites, this could be their year.
Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United and Portugal
At the time of writing, there are doubts over whether Cristiano Ronaldo will remain with Manchester United for a second season. However, what's not in doubt is his desire to lead Portugal to their first-ever World Cup win. At 37 years old he should be winding down his career but remains in excellent condition and continues to be one of the biggest goal-scoring threats on the planet.It's probably the relative weakness of the Portuguese squad, when compared to their rivals, that prevents Ronaldo from being regarded as the favourite to lead the scoring charts in Qatar. After all, he recently became the all-time top goal scorer in international matches by blasting his way to 117 goals. Portugal won the 2016 UEFA European Championship but by far their best World Cup performance was their debut in 1966 when the legendary Eusebio won the Golden Boot as they finished in third place.
Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur and England
The chances of England adding to their sole World Cup in 1966 largely depend upon the scoring prowess of Harry Kane, who was the top scorer in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. His six goals in that tournament are part of an overall haul of 50 goals in just 71 games for the national team. With his club, he's second only to Jimmy Greaves in their all-time scoring lists and doesn't look like stopping anytime soon.As the World Cup draws closer, some online bookmakers have Kane as the favourite to win the Golden Boot. We can see how popular football gambling has become by looking at this list of the best betting sites in Qatar. With no local betting operations allowed, sports fans there rely on international bookmakers like Betway and 888sport to bet on the upcoming games in their home country. Neteller and Entropay are listed as a couple of payment methods that can be used to fund their betting accounts.
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Neymar of PSG and Brazil
The Brazilian star isn't being talked about as much in terms of 2022's Golden Boot, but one look at his scoring records suggests that he'll be in the running alongside the other players mentioned. Since making his debut for Brazil at the age of 18, Neymar has scored 74 goals, with an impressive six in the ten games he's played in the World Cup so far.His best performance to date came in the 2014 tournament that was held in Brazil, although it ended in disaster. Neymar had scored four goals to lead his team to a semi-final against Germany when a back injury forced him to miss that game. A demoralised Brazilian team paid tribute to their star player before the game against Germany but were blown away in a humiliating 7-1 loss. He scored a couple of goals in the 2018 tournament but 2022 could be the chance to finally banish the nightmare from 2014.
Of course, there are other players who'll believe they're in with a chance of winning the Golden boot, and that's one of the reasons why fans from around the planet will be glued to their screens as they watch the greatest football tournament unfold.
