World Cup top scorer: Who are the favourites to win the Golden Boot?

Plenty of goals among this lot.

HarryKaneEnglandNov21

*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change

Qatar is primed to be a battleground of the sharpshooters as the hottest of hot shots bid to lead their country to World Cup glory.

Harry Kane scooped the Golden Boot in Russia four years ago as his six strikes helped England reach the semi-finals before the Three Lions found Croatia to be one step too far.

It is likely to be the last World Cup featuring Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo so the ageing superstars will be desperate to shine in front of goal on their last dance.

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The latest World Cup Golden Boot odds are on the Paddy Power website, otherwise the prices for the leading contenders can be seen on our snazzy widgets below.

Harry Kane

Ah, England’s main man. The winner of the Golden Boot in 2018 when his six goals helped the Three Lions to the last four. Can he defend his title? Well, the English will need to buck up their ideas after a wretched calendar year but group games against Iran, USA and Wales could offer them the perfect chance to hit the ground running.

Harry Kane also has the added incentive of needing three goals to surpass Wayne Rooney as England’s leading goalscorer.

Kylian Mbappe

The French forward reportedly wants to leave PSG in the January transfer window, despite signing a new and improved long-term contract a few months ago, so the World Cup could be a chance to further press his claims for a mega move.

Kylian Mbappe scored four goals when Les Bleus conquered the globe in 2018 and has started this campaign in red-hot form for his club.

Karim Benzema

The Ballon d’Or winner is set to spearhead the French attack in Qatar as Les Bleus bid to retain the World Cup trophy.

A return of 37 goals in 97 appearances for his country is hardly prolific but he was excluded from Didier Deschamps’ squad for the best part of six years before returning to the fold in 2020. Oh, he’s also been lethal for Real Madrid for a long time now…

KarimBenzemaFranceJun21

Neymar

Brazil are the red-hot favourites to win the World Cup thanks to their deep squad and a big part of the goalscoring burden is likely to fall on Neymar’s shoulders.

The Samba superstar has been prolific at international level and found the back of the net on four occasions at the 2014 World Cup but could only manage two goals in Russia last time out.

Lionel Messi

The World Cup is the only major trophy missing from Lionel Messi’s CV and Qatar is set to be his last chance to lead Argentina to the international top prize.

He won the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament when Argentina reached the 2014 final but has only found the back of the net on six occasions in 19 World Cup appearances.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Qatar could also be the final World Cup for the other player in the GOAT debate and Portugal will need to come through a potentially tricky group containing Uruguay, Ghana and South Korea.

Cristiano Ronaldo has a slightly better World Cup record than his Argentinian rival with seven goals in 17 appearances, but he heads into this tournament with less-than-ideal preparation having found himself out of favour at Manchester United.

World Cup Golden Boot betting tips

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