Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are the front-runners for the Golden Boot award, which is presented to the tournament’s highest goal scorer, going into the FIFA World Cup finals. But what if their combined total of goals scored is equal? Then, what happens?
The FIFA World Cup 2022 finals feature France and Argentina. Lionel Messi will compete for Argentina in the quadrennial match at the Lusail Iconic Stadium on Sunday, December 18, for the final time. This will be Messi’s final opportunity to add the World Cup, a prize that has eluded him throughout his remarkable career, to his sparkling cabinet.
The France team, with a potent lineup that has destroyed opponents to advance to the tournament’s final, will be on the other side of the equation. The one time France may have had a bad game was against Morocco in the tournament semifinals, when their defence appeared vulnerable to the direct offensive threat presented by Hakim Ziyech, Sofiane Boufal, and Youssouf En Neysri.
However, France held off the attacks to advance to the championship game by defeating the African team 2-0 in the tournament’s semifinals. The French team defeated the tournament ambitions of the African and Arab teams with goals from Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Mauni.
On December 14, after Kylian Mbappe failed to score against Morocco, the competition for the Golden Boot grew hotter.
Going into the FIFA World Cup 2022 championship game, Mbappe and Lionel Messi are levels on goals scored with five each.
This raises a crucial question. What happens if the top two goal scorers in the World Cup are tied? What if Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi had no distance between them? Someone gets the Golden Boot, one of the most famous prizes in football history. Both athletes want to make their mark on the history of the sport despite never having received the honour in their professional careers.
In the event that Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, or anyone else ties with the same amount of goals, the Golden Boot will be given to the player with the fewest penalties. Lionel Messi has currently scored three penalties, one each against Saudi Arabia, Croatia, and the Netherlands, while Kylian Mbappe has scored all of his goals from outside the box. If Lionel Messi scores and Kylian Mbappe does not, Messi will automatically win the Golden Boot title.
The prize would have been given to the player with the most assists if Messi and Mbappe had been tied in terms of penalties and outfield goals.
With the most coveted trophy in sports, Lionel Messi has the opportunity to solidify his position as the best of all time. When Kylian Mbappe, a teammate from his club, wins two World Cups by the age of 23, he will almost certainly be considered one of the greatest players in the history of the game, regardless of where his career takes him from here. This would make him the first player since Pele to accomplish this feat.
