World Cup Golden Ball: The Contenders

by James Taylor, 26 October 2022

In the latest edition of our blog, we explore some of the contenders for the best player award for the upcoming World Cup. We will assess why they have a chance to claim the 2022 Golden Ball award and what price the bookmakers offer for the player.

Although football is a team sport, there are also prestigious individual awards that players can win. One is the Golden Ball award, given to the tournament’s best player. The first winner of the Golden Ball was Italy’s Paolo Rossi, who took the prize in 1982.

The Previous World Cup Golden Ball Winners

As you can see from the list above, the 2022 Golden Ball winner will be in fine company with some of the best players ever to have played the game among the previous winners.

World Cup Best Player Contenders – Thomas Muller, Germany

When we mention great names such as Pele (twelve goals), Ronaldo (fifteen goals), and Miroslav Klose (sixteen goals), we should also include Muller in the conversation.

The Bayern Munich attacker is the only player in the top ten World Cup goal scorers who will be playing in Qatar and could improve his rank in the list of the greatest footballers.

Germany graced the 2010 edition of the World Cup in style, where the little-known attacker scored five goals in six games claiming the Golden Boot and the Best Young Player award. He scored five goals in the subsequent tournament, leading his side to the trophy but losing out on the Golden Boot to James Rodriguez, who scored one more goal.

Unfortunately, a poor campaign performance in the 2018 edition saw German knocked out of the group stage, and Muller couldn’t add to his ten goals, and the whole team will be eager to rewrite the wrongs of Russia. He is not a flashy player but knows how to be in the right places with exquisite finishing in his feet and has the experience to lead the young German attack to glory.

You can get a healthy 50/1 with bet365 for Muller to claim the World Cup 2022 Golden Ball award.

World Cup Best Player Contenders – Harry Kane, England

A living legend who plies his trade for North London side Tottenham has an industrious international career. The Three Lions captain made his mark in the 2018 World Cup when he won the Golden Boot with six goals leading his side to a fourth-place finish in the tournament. He was twenty-four at the time and has now reached his prime and has a chance to surpass Gary Lineker (six goals) and become his nation’s best scorer at the competition.

The 29-year-old scored five goals in the group stages, with his only knockout stage goal being a penalty kick against Colombia in the Round of sixteen. He will grace the World Cup as one of the best strikers in the world with more than twenty goal involvements in the last five years and won both the top scorer and top assist award in the 2020-21 Premier League season. He has 11 goal involvements (ten goals, one assist) in twelve appearances this season.

Under Gareth Southgate’s management and Kane’s captaincy, England attained their best-ever position at the World Cup since they won the competition in 1966. They can better this milestone if Kane turns his best side to fire them to greatness as he is a real contender to win back-to-back golden boots at the competition. If he does, he’ll become the first player ever to retain the Golden Ball.

World Cup Best Player Contenders – Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal

Ronaldo has become a household name in modern-day football and one of the most talented players who have graced the World Cup. However, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who has achieved everything personally in the football world, is missing the most prestigious of international football in his resume.

Despite his fitness level and incredible athletic ability, the Portuguese captain will likely be featured in his last World Cup tournament as he will be forty-one years in the next edition.

Ronaldo holds the record for international goals with 117 goals in 191 games since making his debut in 2003. He will be playing in his fifth World Cup, featuring in seventeen games and scoring seven goals; four of the goals were scored in 2018, where he netted a hattrick against Spain.

Ronaldo led Portugal to their first-ever Euro title in 2016, and the inaugural winners of the UEFA Nations League will hope to lead his nation to a first-ever World Cup trophy.

When World Cup betting , Ronaldo is 20/1 to win the Golden Boot award.

World Cup Best Player Contenders – Lionel Messi, Argentina

Just like Cristiano, Messi has won enough individual silverware to fill up a museum. Qatar could be his final World Cup, having graced four editions where he has played nineteen games and scored six goals.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner led Argentina to a record fifteenth Copa America trophy to earn his first international honour. He, however, lacks a World Cup trophy, despite having come close to winning the 2014 edition, where they lost 1 – 0 to Germany.

Messi’s move to France has affected his performance in terms of goal involvement. A player who racked up 30 – 40 goal involvements in the last seven years at Barcelona managed just twenty in his previous season (six goals, fourteen assists) in the league and five more in the Champions League.

He has refound his form this campaign with six goals and nine assists in eleven games. He has become more of a team player with the pressure to overachieve and carry the team; fashioning his play by making his teammates look better could be the key to his side’s success in the knockout tournament.

Lionel Messi is 12/1 third favourite to win the World Cup 2022 Golden Boot.

Leo Messi for club and country this season:

🏟 18 games ⚽️ 15 goals 🅰️ 12 assists

25 days left for the World Cup 👀 pic.twitter.com/n1HoGqzIy4

— 433 (@433) October 25, 2022

World Cup Best Player Contenders – Kylian Mbappe, France

The 2018 World Cup Best Young Player took the world by storm, leading France to a second trophy by scoring four goals. Fast forward, the kid has grown prophesied to be a potential heir of Cristiano and Messi’s success; he has added a UEFA Nations League to the World Cup, five Ligue 1 titles, and three Coupes de France titles.

In club success, he surpassed Edison Cavani to become PSG’s all-time goal scorer in the Champions League and just seventeen goals short of the Uruguayan record of two hundred goals.

The 23-year-old was in fine form in the qualifiers scoring five goals and two assists in the six games.

He has twenty-eight goals, with Thierry Henry’s record of fifty-one goals within reach if he can keep up to play at this level for over a decade.

Mbappe has explosive pace, magical skill, and industrial finishing, making him a lethal attacker. He has been the star for the Parisian side, eclipsing Messi and Neymar with twelve goals and two assists in twelve appearances.

Kylian Mbappe, alongside Karim Benzema, are the favourites to win the Golden Ball at 10/1.

World Cup Best Player Contenders – Gareth Bale, Wales

Despite all his excellence for Real Madrid, Bale was never credited enough for his merits. Bale is arguably equally talented as Ronaldo and Benzema and has been a big game player. The Welshman’s tally of three goals in the Champions League final is only bettered by Ronaldo (four).

Bale has long been Wales’ star man and often their knight in shining armour; his most successful spell was in the Euro 2016, where he led them to the semi-finals, where they lost to eventual winners Portugal.

He was inspiring in the qualifiers scoring six and assisting three in seven games. He will be fired heading to Qatar, hoping his familiarity with knockout competition and big games can lead his side to success after leading them to their first-ever qualification since 1958. Now 33 and playing football at Los Angeles FC, the bookies feel his best is behind him and have him as an outsider at 100/1 to win the Golden Ball.

World Cup Best Player Contenders – Christian Pulisic, USA

Christian Pulisic has been impressive for America, leading them to the World Cup after missing out on the trip to Russia in 2018. They finished third in the CONCACAF table behind Canada and Mexico.

Pulisic has struggled to earn a regular start at Stamford Bridge, managing just one goal and one assist this campaign. He was, however, in superb form scoring five goals in ten World Cup qualifying games.

They are in a tricky group with England, Wales and Iran, with England being the favourite to win the group. The match between them and Wales will be most anticipated as they can eye on qualifying as the second-placed team if they can get a good result in this mouthwatering tie.

Pulisic is the most experienced player in the team and needs to stay fit and work on his form especially earning regular football as it would be a straight match-up between him and Bale. Their performance in the tournament could determine whether Captain America shows up all armed to try to lead his nation to victory.

Bookmakers have Christian Pulisic at 150/1 to win the Golden Boot at Qatar 2022.

World Cup Best Player Contenders – Heung-min Son, South Korea

Son is regarded as one of the most outstanding Asian athletes and one of the best forwards in the world with explosive speed, the ability to use both feet, great dribbling prowess, and clinical finishing skill.

The 30-year-old won the 2021-22 Premier League top scorer award alongside Mohammed Salah, scoring twenty-three goals. He scored seven goals in their qualifier campaign, and despite a slow start to the Premier League this season (three goals, two assists), he is still one of the most lethal attackers in the league.

South Korea did not perform well in the 2018 World Cup, but they gave us glimpses of their potential and what we should look out for in the 2022 edition of the games. After losing the first two games, they beat the defending champions Germany 2 – 0 to knock them out of the tournament with exceptional counter-attacking football.

Son’s last minute goal that helped South Korea knock Germany out of the 2014 World Cup. pic.twitter.com/BNvAuKo4nD

— OmondiWinston (@Itiswinny) October 20, 2022

Son was at the centre of all the excellence. Given his achievements over the last four years, we anticipate the Korean to perform even better as a potential contender for the Golden Boot and player of the tournament.

Son can change a game on his own. Therefore we feel the bookmaker’s odds of 100/1 are worth considering.

2022 World Cup Golden Ball – Players to Watch

Sometimes a World Cup reveals some hidden gems which become household names. Here are a couple of players who have the potential to shine in Qatar. Of course, we are not suggesting Qatar or Iran will win the competition, but they could well surprise a few pundits.

World Cup Best Player Outsiders – Akram Afif, Qatar

Akram is a twenty-six-year-old left winger who plays as a left winger for Qatar side Al Sadd Sc. He is the most experienced player in the host nation side, the first Qatari-born player to sign in La Liga when he joined Villareal.

The Qatar international scored the winning goal in the final of the AFC Under 19 Championship qualification campaign in 2014, when they beat North Korea 1 – 0. Afif played a significant role in his side’s triumph in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup campaign, where he registered a new record of ten assists.

He has fourteen goals and seventeen assists in eighteen games in the 2021-22 season and is one of the stand-out players. The maestro has the potential to lead the host nation to victory as one of the stand-out players, with his ability to create goals his greatest strength.

Sometimes the host nation defies expectations, such as Russia in 2018 (beat Saudi Arabia 5-0 and Egypt 3-1). So if Qatar does well, Afif is likely to be at the heart of it.

Akram Afif is priced at 500/1 to win the Golden Boot at Qatar 2020.

World Cup Best Player Outsiders – Sardar Azmoun, Iran

The twenty-seven-year-old Iranian plays at the German side Bayern Leverkusen. He scored fifty-two goals in seventy-nine appearances but has struggled for form in Germany, scoring just once in seventeen games. However, his performance in Iranian colours has been impressive, managing forty-one goals in sixty-five appearances.

The maestro took a bold stand to defend the injustices against Iranian women that could risk his place in Qatar for his comments. Evenly worse, he sustained a calf injury that could make him sidelined and unless he recovers early could miss or not be match ready for the games.

However, if he does feature, he is one of the players with incredible international stats that can take the World Cup by storm to marshal Iran as one of the tournament’s surprise packages.

Sardar Azmoun is priced at 500/1 to win the best player award. If you are new to betting, check out our World Cup betting guide. Once the action gets underway in Qatar, we will bring you all the latest news and previews for all the games, so check back often.

Women’s World Cup Golden Ball

The Women’s World Cup starts in July 2023, and with England winning the Euros in 2022, they’re likely to be in contention for winning the Women’s Football World Cup too. Last time around, Megan Rapinoe won the Women’s Golden Ball for being the tournament’s best player – can one of the Lionesses take the title in 2023? Why not check out the best Women’s World Cup betting sites and bet on who you think will win the prestigious award?