FIFA World Cup 2022: Top Goalscorer Outrights

The is only a few days away, and one of the questions on everyone’s lips is, who will win the Golden Boot in this year’s edition? Bet Central looks at the outright favourites to be the tournament’s top goalscorer.

Harry Kane (8.00)

Harry Kane will be looking to win the Golden Boot again after winning it in the 2018 World Cup. The Three Lion’s captain will be looking to lead his side to their first major tournament triumph since 1966 after falling short at Euro 2020.

Kane scored six goals in 2018 as England were knocked out in the semifinals by Croatia. Despite England’s poor form of late, the Spurs man continues to find the back of the net for his country with his 12 goals in the European qualifying matched only by Memphis Depay. He’ll come up against stiffer opposition in the tournament with England’s group consisting of Iran, Wales and the United States.

Kane has scored 12 times already for Tottenham in the Premier League and going back to May, he’s scored 17 goals in his last 20 league appearances for Spurs. England will have to go deep into the tournament if Kane is to make it back-to-back World Cup Golden Boots.

Kylian Mbappe (9.00)

Named the Best Young Player in Russia four years ago. Mbappe will be looking to help his country defend their World Cup crown in Qatar. The Frenchman scored four goals, including one in the final as France defeated Croatia 4-2 to win the tournament in 2018.

He is one of the best players in the world, and at just 23, there’s a lot more to come. The PSG forward has scored 169 club goals since the 2018 World Cup with only Robert Lewandowski (211) boasting a better record for clubs in the top five European leagues. He’s also the leading goalscorer in 2022 in all competitions within the top five European leagues, scoring 43 goals.

This season, he’s scored 19 times in 20 appearances for PSG, scoring every 88 minutes in all competitions.

Lionel Messi (11.00)

Lionel Messi has already declared this tournament will be his final one, and with Argentina’s fantastic form going into the World Cup, you wouldn’t bet against the 35-year-old walking away with the Golden Boot. He’s scored 12 goals in 19 games for PSG in all competitions this season.

For his country, Messi has been in red-hot form. He scored seven times in qualification for Argentina, while three friendly appearances this year have seen him score nine goals. He led Argentina to Copa America glory in 2021 and was the tournament’s joint-top scorer, alongside Colombia winger Luis Diaz, with four goals.

Along with his PSG teammate Mbappe, Messi has a very good chance of winning the award if his team go deep into the tournament or even wins it.

Neymar (11.00)

The third PSG player on this list has had a great season so far scoring 15 times across all competitions. His tally is bettered by only four players from teams within Europe’s top five leagues and is probably playing the football of his life at the moment.

Like Messi, Neymar starred in qualifying, scoring once every 112 minutes, and Qatar could be his time. He needs just three more goals to become Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer, surpassing the great Pele.

Brazil are the bookies’ favourites to win the World Cup and Neymar’s goals will certainly play a huge role if they are to win their sixth World Cup crown.

Karim Benzema (13.00)

The second French player on this list and the Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema is the 5th favourite to win the Golden Boot at 13.00. After a long absence from France’s squad, Benzema returned for the delayed Euro 2020 and scored four times, a tally bettered only by Patrik Schick and Cristiano Ronaldo (5 goals each).

Last season, he scored 44 goals in 46 games across all competitions, a total bettered only by Lewandowski. He will be looking to replicate the same form that won him the 2022 Ballon d’Or. Injuries have been an issue this season as he’s only scored six times in 12 appearances for Real Madrid.

It remains to be seen if injuries won’t be an issue in this tournament which could impact his chances of winning the Golden Boot.