When a player competes in the World Cup, one goal is on their mind: win.
Winning the World Cup immortalizes a player in their country forever. But if you can’t win it all, there are several other achievements to be won at each tournament.
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One of the most prestigious awards is the Golden Boot, which is given out every four years. Other honors include the Golden Ball, Golden Glove and Young Player Award, among others.
Here’s everything to know about the Golden Boot:
What is the World Cup Golden Boot?
The Golden Boot is awarded to the top scorer at each World Cup. There is also a Silver Boot and Bronze Boot to the second and third top scorers, respectively.
Who won the 2022 World Cup Golden Boot?
Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi competed not only for the World Cup trophy, but the Golden Boot when France and Argentina faced off in the 2022 final.
The former PSG teammates entered the final with five goals during the tournament. Messi struck first, but Mbappé scored two second-half goals to send the match to extra time. Both players then scored in extra time, giving Mbappé an 8-7 edge in overall goals during the tournament.
Mbappé’s eight goals were tied with Brazil’s Ronaldo (2002) for the most ever by a Golden Boot winner. Messi’s seven goals were the third-most ever in the Golden Boot award era, but he had to settle for silver — although winning the final was the much better prize.
Which player has the most World Cup Golden Boots?
The Golden Boot award began in 1982, when it was called the Golden Shoe. It was renamed to Golden Boot in 2010.
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Dating back to the first World Cup in 1930, no player has led the tournament in goals more than once. Germany’s Thomas Müller nearly pulled off the feat in 2014 — he won the Golden Boot in 2010 and the Silver Boot in 2014, finishing one goal behind Colombia’s James Rodriguez.
What is the record for most goals in a World Cup?
French striker Just Fontaine holds the record for most goals in a single World Cup, when he scored 13 in 1958. Hungary’s Sándor Kocsis (11 in 1954) and West Germany’s Gerd Müller (10 in 1970) are the only other players with double-digit goals in a single tournament.
Germany’s Miroslav Klose holds the all-time record for career World Cup goals with 16 in 24 matches over four tournaments. Messi is the active leader with 13 goals in 26 World Cup matches over five tournaments. Mbappé has 12 goals in his first two World Cup appearances (14 matches).
Which country has the most World Cup Golden Boots?
Since the award began in 1982, Italy, England and Germany lead all nations with two Golden Boots each. Paolo Rossi (1982) and Salvatore Schillaci (1990) won it for Italy, Klose (2006) and Müller (2010) claimed it for Germany and Gary Lineker (1986) and Harry Kane (2018) were the English winners.
Other countries with players to win the award include Russia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Brazil and Colombia.
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List of World Cup Golden Boot winners
Here’s the full list of Golden Boot winners since 1982:
1982: Paolo Rossi, Italy (6 goals)
1986: Gary Lineker, England (6 goals)
1990: Salvatore Schillaci, Italy (6 goals)
1994 (shared): Oleg Salenko, Russia and Hristo Stoichkov, Bulgaria (6 goals)
1998: Davor Suker, Croatia (6 goals)
2002: Ronaldo, Brazil (8 goals)
2006: Miroslav Klose, Germany (5 goals)
2010: Thomas Müller, Germany (5 goals)
2014: James Rodriguez, Colombia (6 goals)
2018: Harry Kane, England (6 goals)
2022: Kylian Mbappé, France (8 goals)