The Golden Boot race for the competition's top scorer provided a fascinating sub-plot to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Lionel Messi, now 35, battled Kylian Mbappe for top scoring honours in Qatar in what was a thrilling side note to a sensational tournament.
In the end, it came down to the final. Mbappe's stunning hat-trick saw him claim the top scorer award with eight goals, although it was not enough to give France the title.
Messi's two in the final took him to seven overall, but Argentina did enough as they won via a penalty shootout after a 3-3 draw following extra time.
MORE: Every player that's scored a World Cup hat-trick
World Cup Golden Boot winners all-time
The Golden Boot battle is always eagerly anticipated at the World Cup, with a curious record of no player having won it more than once in men's football.
| Tournament | Golden Boot winner | Country | Goals |
| Uruguay 1930 | Guillermo Stabile | Argentina | 8 |
| Italy 1934 | Oldrich Nejedly | Czechoslovakia | 5 |
| France 1938 | Leonidas | Brazil | 7 |
| Brazil 1950 | Ademir | Brazil | 8 |
| Switzerland 1954 | Sandor Kocsis | Hungary | 11 |
| Sweden 1958 | Just Fontaine | France | 13 |
| Chile 1962 | Garrincha, Vava, Leonel Sanchez, Florian Albert, Drazan Jerkovic, Valentin Ivanov | Brazil, Brazil, Chile, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Soviet Union | 4 |
| England 1966 | Eusebio | Portugal | 9 |
| Mexico 1970 | Gerd Muller | West Germany | 10 |
| West Germany 1974 | Grzegorz Lato | Poland | 7 |
| Argentina 1978 | Mario Kempes | Argentina | 6 |
| Spain 1982 | Paolo Rossi | Italy | 6 |
| Mexico 1986 | Gary Lineker | England | 6 |
| Italy 1990 | Salvatore Schillachi | Italy | 6 |
| USA 1994 | Oleg Salenko, Hristo Stoichkov | Russia, Bulgaria | 6 |
| France 1998 | Davor Suker | Croatia | 6 |
| South Korea/Japan 2002 | Ronaldo | Brazil | 8 |
| Germany 2006 | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 5 |
| South Africa 2010 | Thomas Muller | Germany | 5 |
| Brazil 2014 | James Rodriguez | Colombia | 6 |
| Russia 2018 | Harry Kane | England | 6 |
| Qatar 2022 | Kylian Mbappe | France | 8 |
Players with most goals in a single World Cup
Scoring more than 10 goals at a single tournament has proved a feat too far for any player since 1970, with the average dropping to six per tournament since the turn of the century.
| Rank | Name | Country | Tournament | Goals scored in single tournament | Overall World Cup goals |
| 1 | Just Fontaine | France | Sweden 1958 | 13 | 13 |
| 2 | Sandor Kocsis | Hungary | Switzerland 1954 | 11 | 11 |
| 3 | Gerd Muller | West Germany | Mexico 1970 | 10 | 14 |
| 4 | Eusebio | Portugal | England 1966 | 9 | 9 |
| 5 | Guillermo Stabile | Argentina | Uruguay 1930 | 8 | 8 |
| 5 | Ademir | Brazil | Brazil 1950 | 8 | 8 |
| 5 | Ronaldo | Brazil | Japan/South Korea 2002 | 8 | 15 |
| 5 | Kylian Mbappe | France | Qatar 2022 | 8 | 12 |
| 9 | Leonidas | Brazil | France 1938 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | Grzegorz Lato | Poland | West Germany 1974 | 7 | 10 |
| 9 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Qatar 2022 | 7 | 13 |
Players with most goals in World Cup history
The World Cup top scorers list is dominated by European and South American hot-shots, with no player from outside those two continents featuring in the top 10.
List of top scorers at World Cup
| Rank | Name | Country | Goals | Games | Tournament appearances | Goals per game |
| 1 | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 16 | 24 | 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 | 0.67 |
| 2 | Ronaldo | Brazil | 15 | 19 | 1994*, 1998, 2002, 2006 | 0.79 |
| 3 | Gerd Muller | West Germany | 14 | 13 | 1970, 1974 | 1.08 |
| 4 | Just Fontaine | France | 13 | 6 | 1958 | 2.17 |
| 4 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 13 | 26 | 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 | 0.50 |
| 6 | Pele | Brazil | 12 | 14 | 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970 | 0.85 |
| 6 | Kylian Mbappe | France | 12 | 14 | 2018, 2022 | 0.85 |
| 8 | Sandor Kocsis | Hungary | 11 | 5 | 1954 | 2.20 |
| 8 | Jurgen Klinsmann | West Germany/Germany | 11 | 17 | 1990, 1994, 1998 | 0.65 |
| 10 | Helmut Rahn | West Germany | 10 | 10 | 1954, 1958 | 1.00 |
| 10 | Gary Lineker | England | 10 | 12 | 1986, 1990 | 0.83 |
| 10 | Gabriel Batistuta | Argentina | 10 | 12 | 1994, 1998, 2002 | 0.83 |
| 10 | Teofilo Cubillas | Peru | 10 | 13 | 1970, 1978, 1982** | 0.77 |
| 10 | Thomas Muller | Germany | 10 | 16 | 2010, 2014, 2018** | 0.63 |
| 10 | Grzegorz Lato | Poland | 10 | 20 | 1974, 1978, 1982 | 0.50 |
* Named in World Cup squad but did not make an appearance
**Featured in World Cup but did not score a goal
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Most goals scored in a World Cup game
The 1994 World Cup Golden Boot race continued the pattern of consecutive tournaments where the award was won by six goals, with Russian star Oleg Salenko and Bulgarian icon Hristo Stoichkov sharing the award in the USA.
However, the tournament does still hold the record of featuring the most goals scored by a single player in one game.
Salenko netted five goals in Russia's 6-1 Group B win over Cameroon, in their final group-stage match, but it was not enough to secure a place in the knockout stages.
🖐️ The only man to score 5 times in a single #WorldCup match turns 52 today 🎂
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) October 25, 2021
🇷🇺 Happy birthday, Oleg Salenko 🥳pic.twitter.com/oHA5GSIQwU