FIFA World Cup 2022: Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe battle for Golden Boot, Golden Ball

The Golden Boot is given to the World Cup's highest goal scorer, and Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, who will face off in the championship match of FIFA World Cup 2022, are currently tied for first place with five goals each. In order to win the Golden Boot, a player must score the most goals overall during the competition.

The Golden Boot, Golden Glove, and Golden Ball trophies will be given out after Sunday's final, so there are still a lot of individual medals up for grabs in addition to the World Cup itself. Given the different players still in the running, all three may still be decided during the course of the final two games.

Only two other active players with several goals to their name are included after Messi, Mbappe, Alvarez, and Giroud in the standings.

Andrej Kramaric of Croatia and Youssef En-Nesyri of Morocco have both scored twice so far, but if either of them hopes to surpass their competitors, they will need to do something spectacular in the third-place encounter.

The Golden Ball, awarded to the best player of the World Cup, is chosen again through a more subjective procedure by a small group of members of the international media who vote on a shortlist of contenders compiled by the FIFA technical committee. While the ultimate result may determine the exact winner, it's reasonable to say that Messi and Mbappe are the two front-runners for the 2022 award because of the numerous instances of match-winning brilliance they've contributed along the way. After all the tie breaking goals, and excellent skills, may the best runner win.

FAQs:

1. When was the first golden ball handed out?
   The Golden Ball award was first handed out in 1982, when it was claimed by Italy striker Paolo Rossi (who also won the Golden Boot that year). Since then, a litany of great names have taken the plaudits, with Diego Maradona (1986), Ronaldo (1998) and Modric (2018) among the recipients.

Which goalkeepers will make it to finals?
The four goalkeepers who advance to the 2022 World Cup's final two games are Yassine Bounou (Morocco), Dominic Livakovic, Hugo Lloris, and Argentina's Emil Martinez.