The Golden Boot award is a secondary trophy that is presented to the top goal-scorer of the World Cup football tournament. This elite prize is highly coveted by the world’s best footballers, and with so many legends of the sport participating in Qatar 2024, the race for the 2024 trophy looks set to be one of the most highly contested prizes in World Cup history.
The Race for the Golden Boot
With so many amazing players vying for the golden boot, making an accurate prediction as to who may claim the prize is extremely challenging. Those who are participating in Football World Championship 2024 betting do have a few data points to go on, however; Germany’s Thomas Muller has the most World Cup goals under his belt, having scored ten times during the last four tournaments.
As an interesting side note, another German player – Miroslav Klose – currently holds the record for the most goals scored in all World Cup tournaments, with a staggering 16 goals across four campaigns.
Qatar 2024
Whilst past results make an excellent starting point for our research, the best place to look for clues as to who will collect the 2024 golden boot is arguably the tournament itself. Footballing legend Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score in five consecutive World Cups when he scored a 65th minute penalty against Ghana in Portugal’s opening game.
Ronaldo now has eight world cup goals to his name, but that total is almost certain to rise if Portugal continue to do well and progress deep into the competition. Considering that Cristiano already holds the world record for the most goals scored in international football, few would doubt that he has what it takes to collect the Golden Boot in Qatar.
Of course, Ronaldo is far from the only footballing legend playing in Qatar this year. Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Uruguay’s Luis Suarez are only one step behind the Portuguese superstar, as both players currently have seven FIFA World Cup strikes to their names. There are a few wildcards in the race too, such as Ecuador’s Enner Valencia who scored twice in the opening game of the tournament against the hosts Qatar.
During the previous 21 FIFA World Cup’s we have witnessed an average of two goals per match, so there is still plenty of time for the competitors to stake their claim on the Golden Boot. Plus, it’s also worth noting that Qatar is the first World Cup tournament consisting of 64 games rather than the traditional 48. This means that we are likely to see more goals this year than ever before.
The Current Standings
We have compiled the current top goalscorer data along with the betting odds for each player who has scored at the FIFA World Cup 2024 in the table below:
| Rank | Player | Country | Goals | Bookmakers Odds |
| 1 | Kylian Mbappe | France | 3 | 5/2 |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 2 | 9/1 |
| 2 | Richarlison | Brazil | 2 | 11/1 |
| 2 | Cody Gakpo | Netherlands | 2 | 20/1 |
| N/A | Bruno Fernandez | Portugal | – | 20/1 |
| N/A | Cody Gakpo | Netherlands | – | 20/1 |
| 1 | Enner Valencia | Ecuador | 3 | 30/1 |
| 2 | Olivier Giroud | France | 2 | 30/1 |
| 2 | Ferran Torres | Spain | 2 | 30/1 |
| N/A | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | – | 35/1 |
| N/A | Harry Kane | England | – | 40/1 |
| 2 | Bukayo Saka | England | 2 | 40/1 |
| 2 | Mohammed Kudus | Ghana | 2 | 50/1 |
| 2 | Andrej Kramaric | Croatia | 2 | 60/1 |
| 2 | Cho Geu-sung | South Korea | 2 | 100/1 |
| 2 | Mehdi Taremi | Iran | 2 | 100/1 |
The Bookmakers Favourites
As you can see in the table above, the bookmakers are currently favouring several names that we have not even mentioned yet. Who are these players, and why do the bookmakers favour them over names such as Cristiano Ronaldo and the winner of the previous Golden Boot, England’s Harry Kane? We’ll provide a short introduction to these players below:
1. Kylian Mbappe, France
Mbappe has recently been called “France’s Talisman” at the Qatar World Cup after scoring one goal plus a key assist in their opening fixture against Australia, along with two more successful strikes in their second game against Denmark. The player’s strong performance has already guaranteed France a spot in the knockout stages of the tournament.
2. Enner Valencia, Ecuador
We mentioned Valencia as a wildcard earlier in this article, but many pundits believe this player could have what it takes to secure a surprise victory in the race for the 2024 Golden Boot. Enner was responsible for two goals against host Qatar in Ecuador’s opening game of the tournament and might have achieved a hat trick if his third goal had not been disallowed after a video review.
Valencia showed that he was no one trick pony when he continued his impressive run with another goal against the Netherlands in his team’s second game. The bookies are currently offering odds of 30/1, a price which may seem like the bargain of the century if Ecuador manage to run deep in the tournament.
3. Bruno Fernandes, Portugal
Bruno Fernandes looks as if he will prove to be an integral part of Portugal’s success in Qatar this year after a brilliant showing in their 3-2 victory over Ghana. Bruno put on an even more impressive display in their second game against Uruguay, scoring two goals including a devastating spot kick which sealed the victory and guaranteed Portugal a slot in the last 16 of the World Cup.
Fernandes will no doubt be lamenting his failure to bag a hat trick despite two close attempts in the later stages of that second match, but he still has plenty of time to catch up with his rivals in the race for the Golden Boot.
4. Bukayo Saka, England
England’s opening game in Qatar saw Gareth Southgate’s Lions achieve a thrilling 6-2 victory over Iran, including a goal in each half from Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka. Saka isn’t currently considered to be one of the top contenders for the Golden Boot, but this could well change if England continue showing the excellent form they have done in other recent international tournaments.
