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The Golden Boot is the individual prize that goalscorers seek. There is a chance to become a football legend.
Some of the true greats, such as Eusebio, Gerd Muller and the BrazilianRonald, are included in the list.
In order to make a prediction of who will win the Golden Boot in the World Cup, we need to know what makes a Golden Boot winner.
There was no title for being the top scorer at the World Cup. It was branded as the golden shoe for the tournament in Spain in 1982. The award was given a football themed rebrand in 2010.
Over the course of 21 tournaments, 27 players have won the award.
It is not likely anyone will match the goals haul of Just Fontaine at a single World Cup.
Fontaine scored 13 times in Sweden in the late 19th century. This came from just six games and included four goals in the third-place game against West Germany. France didn't make the final despite his efforts.
Only four goals are needed to win the Golden Boot, which was shared by six players in 1962, the first time in history that the award has gone to more than one player at a single tournament.
The boot went to the German forward due to his three assists.
This was in line with a rule that was brought in after the 1994 World Cup, which stated that players with the most goals will be separated by who scored the least penalties, and the player with the most assists.
Winning Golden boots isn't a game of old men. Only one player over 30 has ever won the prize when the tournament in which they top-scored began, and that was the brilliant Davor Suker of Croatia, who was only five months past his 30th birthday.
The youngest Golden Boot winner was from Hungary, who was 20 years, 8 months and 15 days old at the start of the tournament.
At the start of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Thomas Muller was just 14 days old. He wants to become the first two time winner of the award.
It makes sense that Brazil would have the most Golden Boot winners, since they have five World Cup trophy wins.
Argentina, England, Hungary, Italy and Russia are the only other countries with more than one win.
Most Golden Boot winners play football in Brazil. The last one came in 1962.
The ability and willingness of players to seek out new challenges overseas is illustrative of the shifting money and power in football, as evidenced by the fact that six of the 12 Golden Boot winners from 1978 onwards have played abroad.
Four of the winners have hosted a World Cup. It is unlikely that we will see a home winner this time.
It's important to have experience when you're trying to win a Golden Boot.
Stabile hasn't had a player win the award since they didn't play for their country. Schillaci and Muller both had one and two caps before announcing themselves on the international stage.
Going into the World Cup, the most caps a winner has had is byRonaldo.
Schillaci, Muller and Salenko were the first to score for their country.
Golden boot winners have netted 11 times for their country. Sandor Kocsis of Hungary had the most with 37.
Most Golden Boot winners were in good shape for the World Cup. Only three players from 1966 onwards have scored less than double figures for their clubs in the season leading up to the tournament, and one of them was banned for two years and the other was injured.
The most goals scored in a league season before a World Cup is 38 by West Germany in 1969-1970.
Only two Golden Boot winners have played for clubs that did not finish in the top four of their league before the World Cup.
The more opportunities a player has to score, the better.
The only Golden Boot winner who didn't get out of the group stage was Salenko. Five of his six goals in the USA came in a single game.
Does this information allow us to predict who will take the Golden Boot this winter?
We used the data to narrow it down to those from the top eight favorites to win the tournament.
They need to be between the ages of 30 and 25 and will be based in Europe at a club in the top four of their league.
They should have at least 22 caps and 11 goals for their country and be in good goal scoring form for their club.
The players who come closest to fitting the bill are here.
| Player | Country | Based | Age | Caps/goals | Club pos. | Club goals 22/23 |
| Lautaro Martinez | Argentina | Italy | 25 | 40/21 | 5 | 7 |
| Kylian Mbappe | France | France | 23 | 59/28 | 1 | 12 |
| Serge Gnabry | Germany | Germany | 27 | 36/20 | 1 | 8 |
| Leroy Sane | Germany | Germany | 26 | 47/11 | 1 | 5 |
| Harry Kane | England | England | 29 | 75/51 | 4 | 12 |
| Neymar | Brazil | France | 30 | 121/75 | 1 | 11 |
| Alvaro Morata | Spain | Spain | 30 | 57/27 | 5 | 5 |
| Richarlison | Brazil | England | 25 | 38/17 | 4 | 0 |
| Andre Silva | Portugal | Germany | 27 | 51/19 | 15 | 2 |
| Memphis Depay | Netherlands | Spain | 28 | 81/42 | 2 | 1 |
Raj Dhunna provided the index and golden boot winners graphic.
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