Qatar 2022 World Cup has so far had 163 goals from 62 out of the 64 matches played. It is already the fourth-highest goal-scoring World Cup since Uruguay 1930.
France 1998 and Brazil 2014 had 171 goals in each tournament. Russia 2018 had 169 goals and now Qatar 2022 has 163 goals, which is likely to increase by the end of the tournament.
Interestingly this year, Paris Saint Germain teammates, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are at levels with five goals each as both race for the golden boot award. Messi currently has 3 assists to his credit whiles Mbappe has two. The Argentina captain’s three assists breaks the tie with Kylian Mbappe.
Kylian Mbappe’s ability to sprint faster than other players has won him a lot of advantages in this years World Cup. After making his World Cup debut in 2018, the 23-year-old seems to have gotten a lot of experiences playing at this top level.
He scored his first goal in the group stage match against Australia where France won by 4:1. He further netted a brace in their second group D game against Denmark to secure a 2:0 win for France. The 2018 World Cup winner grabbed another brace where Olivier Giroud scored one to make it 3-1 against Poland in the round of 16.
Lionel Messi has relied heavily on his experience and ability to create spaces for himself in this tournament. The 35-year-old has always been off his team whenever he is without the ball. On the other hand, he has created some impressive moments to threaten his opponents whenever he got hold of the ball.
Messi Powered Argentina to the World Cup final with a goal and an assist in their 3:0 win against Croatia which also won the the Man of The Match. He opened his goal-scoring account against Mexico in their group stage game. He scored in their 2-1 loss against Saudi Arabia before registering two goals in their game against the Netherlands in the quarterfinal.
Olivier Giroud and Julian Alvarez are the only surviving players who can surpass the PSG duo for the golden boat award. Both Giroud and Alvarez have four goals each and are currently in the third and fourth positions.
Richarlison, Gonçalo Ramos, and Alvaro Morata who have suffered elimination are with three goals each.
It will take just a goal by Messi or Mbappe to level up with Harry Kane who won the 2018 golden boot award with six goals. Giroud and Alvarez on the other hand, have to score two goals each to tally Kane’s 2018 record.