The 2022 FIFA World Cup will see 32 nations compete in Qatar’s biggest footballing event, the first World Cup ever hosted in the Middle East. This year marks the final edition of the tournament with a 32-nation field – that number is set to rise to 48 for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
This year’s Copa Mundial looks different for a number of reasons, including the dates (due to the intense summer heat in Qatar, the schedule has been pushed back to November-December instead of the traditional summer). But as always, the event features the world’s top fútbol nations vying for global glory, as well as individual awards for top performers, including the coveted attacking player award: the Golden Boot.
At the final iteration of the World Cup, England’s harry kane, also a star for Tottenham from the Premier League, took home the award thanks to his six goals, which likely helped cushion the blow of the Three Lions’ 2-0 deficit against Belgium in the third-place play-off. One of the key storylines to watch at this year’s World Cup is the swan song for two of football’s biggest stars: Argentina Lionel Messi and Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo. Neither player has ever won the Golden Boot, and neither of their teams has won the World Cup during their tenure. Defending champions France are likely to field a few contenders for the award, including Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema. Stay tuned to ProSoccerTalk and NBC Sports Edge for more information on the latest Golden Boot standings, odds and predictions throughout the tournament.
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What is the Golden Shoe?
The Golden Boot is the award given to the top scorer at each edition of the World Cup. At the end of the tournament, if two or more players are at the top of the list with the same number of goals, the award goes to the player with the most goals without a penalty shoot-out, and if they are still tied, the award goes to the player along most assists. While there has always been a top scorer at the tournament, the specific award has been presented since 1982. It was known as “The Golden Show” until it was rebranded in 2010.
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Who are the top scorers of the 2022 World Cup?
1. Enner Valencia (Ecuador) – 3
2. Kylian Mbappe (France) – 3rd
3.Olivier Giroud (France) – 2nd
4. Mehdi Taremi (Iran) – 2nd
5. Richarlison (Brazil) – 2nd
6. Ferran Torres (Spain) – 2nd
7. Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 2nd
8. Bukayo Saka (England) – 2nd
9. Cody Gakpo (Netherlands) – 2nd
All previous Golden Boot winners (1982–2018)
1982: Paolo Rossi (ITA) – 6th
1986: Gary Lineker (GBR) – 6th
1990: Salvatore Schillaci – 6th
1994: Oleg Salenko (RUS) / Hristo Stoichkov (BUL) – 6th
1998: Davor Suker (CRO) – 6th
2002: Ronaldo (BRA) – 8th
2006 – Miroslav Klose (GER) – 5th
2010 – Thomas Muller (GER) – 5th
2014 – James Rodriguez (COL) – 6th
2018 – Harry Kane (GBR) – 6th
When is the 2022 World Cup?
The World Cup begins on Sunday 20th November with hosts Qatar taking on Ecuador in the opening match. The group stage runs until December 3rd before the knockout rounds begin. The final will take place on Sunday 18th December.
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2022 World Cup schedule, start time, dates, how to watch live
- When: November 20, 2022 to December 18, 2022
- Group game kick-off times: 5:00, 8:00, 10:00, 11:00, 14:00 (all ET)
- Location: Qatar
- TV channels in Español: Telemundo, Universe, peacock
- stream in Spanish: peacock (all 64 games)
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