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We're almost through with the group stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The race for the Golden Boot is heating up with four players locked with three goals apiece.
France star Kylian Mbappe, England's Marcus Rashford, Netherlands starlet Cody Gakpo and Ecuador forward Enner Valencia are leading the race for the coveted prize.
Valencia, though, won't be able to add to his tally, as La Tri have been eliminated from the competition after finishing third in Group A. Mbappe, meanwhile, scored for Les Blues in their 4-1 opening win over Australia before firing an amazing brace to beat Denmark 2-1.
That brought him level with Valencia. He might bag a few more before the knockouts, as the defending champions are currently in action against Tunisia in their final game.
Rashford, meanwhile, was on target for the Three Lions in their incredible 6-2 thrashing of Iran in their first game. Following a blank in a goalless draw with USA, he netted twice in a 3-0 win over Wales.
Elsewhere, Gakpo has been the breakout star of this World Cup, scoring in all three group games for the Oranje. Interestingly, all of them have been the first goal of the game too.
He set Louis van Gaal's side on their way to a 2-0 win over Senegal, scored in their 1-1 draw with Ecuador and put them in front against Qatar too. In the process, the 23-year-old became just the second player to open the scoring three times in the same group stage of a World Cup, joining Alessandro Altobelli for Italy in the 1986 edition.
Eleven players have scored twice so far, including Lionel Messi, while his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo is on one goal.
The last World Cup's Golden Boot winner, Harry Kane, is yet to open his account in the tournament, drawing a blank in all three of England's group games. The Three Lions, though, topped Group A to move into the knockouts.
Open race for Golden Boot at 2022 FIFA World Cup
In the 2018 edition in Russia, Kane had already struck five times in the group stage to stake an early claim to the Golden Boot, while Ronaldo was just behind him on four.
This time, though, the race is much closer, with four players leading the charge, with three of them set to be involved in the knockouts.
Messi (35) and Ronaldo (37), two of the best players in the world, have never won the Golden Boot before. Given their age right now, they don't seem likely to change that in Qatar.
