Messi vs Mbappe: Who will win the Golden Boot if both tie on total number of goals?

The FIFA World Cup 2022 final is just a day away and will see Argentina face France match at the Lusail Iconic Stadium on Sunday, December 18. While Argentina entered the tournament as one of the favourites, defending champions France have played steadily and have lost just one match at the group stage. The final faceoff in the quadrennial is projected to be star forward Lionel Messi’s last chance to add the World Cup to his illustrious career.

Besides the competition at the team level, Messi and Kylian Mbappe have emerged as the top contenders for the Golden Boot, awarded to the player with the most scores. Both the ace forwards have tied at five goals at the World Cup. They also are competing for the Golden Ball, the tournament's Most Valuable Player award.

Messi vs Mbappe: 5 goals each 

Messi and Mbappe, who are teammates in the Paris Saint-Germain club, reached their five goals each by playing six matches in the group stage, Round of 16, quarterfinals and semifinals.

Messi has played 570 minutes and has 5 goals and three assists in his kitty. He has three successful penalty kicks, 15 chances created, 26 shots, and 13 shots on goal.

On the other hand, Mbappe has 5 goals, two assists in his six games. He has played 477 minutes, 23 shots, 10 shots on goal. He leads the tournament in dribbles completed (23), while Messi is second in that list with 19 dribbles.

Messi scored against Croatia in the semifinals, Mbappe failed to score or create in any opportunity against Morocco.

• Lionel Messi (Argentina) - 3 assists, 570 minutes played 
• Kylian Mbappe (France) - 2 assists, 477 minutes played 

Others on the list: 4 goals each

After Messi and Mbappe, the others in the list are Argentina's Julian Alvarez and France's Olivier Giroud with four goals each. If they score in the final match, both would be in league with Messi and Mbappe for the Golden Boot award.

• Julian Alvarez (Argentina) - 0 assists, 364 minutes played 
• Olivier Giroud (France) - 0 assists, 383 minutes played 

FIFA’s rule

If Mbappe and Messi fail to score in the final match, or anyone else ties with the same number of goals, the Golden Boot will be given to the player with the fewest penalties, as per FIFA rules.

As Messi has currently scored three penalties, one each against Saudi Arabia, Croatia, and the Netherlands, Messi will automatically win the Golden Boot award.

Mbappe will miss his chance as he has scored all of his goals from outside the box. In another case, if Messi and Mbappe tied, the player with the most assists would win the award.

Winners in the past

The Golden Boot trophy was first awarded at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

1982: Paolo Rossi - Italy: 6 goals
1986: Gary Lineker - England: 6 goals
1990: Salvatore Schillaci - Italy: 6 goals
1994: Oleg Salenko and Hristo Stoichkov - Russia and Bulgaria: 6 goals
1998: Davor Suker - Croatia: 6 goals
2002: Ronaldo - Brazil: 8 goals
2006: Miroslav Klose - Germany: 5 goals
2010: Thomas Muller - Germany: 5 goals
2014: James Rodríguez - Colombia: 6 goals
2018: Harry Kane - England: 6 goals

World Cup: All-time top scorers
Miroslav Klose - Germany: 16 goals in 24 games played.
Ronaldo - Brazil: 15 goals scored in 19 games played.
Gerd Muller - Germany: 14 goals in 13 games played.
Just Fontaine - France: 13 goals in 6 games played.
Pele - Brazil: 12 goals in 14 games.