The third-place play-off has often shaped the World Cup Golden Shoe | OneFootball

The World Cup third-place play-off has often swung the Golden Shoe race.

The prize has been awarded since 1982. According to L'Équipe, Kylian Mbappé accepted it without joy after the 2022 final, moments before Lionel Messi and Argentina lifted the trophy he craved.

Tie-breakers rank assists first, then fewest minutes. That puts Messi, eight and four, alongside Mbappé, eight and three, with minutes favouring the Frenchman, and leaves Harry Kane, six and one, adrift. In 2010, Thomas Müller won on three assists among four tied on five.

Since Ronaldo’s eight in 2002, no world champion has been top scorer, something Messi could yet achieve on Sunday. In 1938 in Bordeaux, Leonidas struck twice in Brazil-Sweden 4-2 to finish on seven.

Gerd Müller stayed on 10 after West Germany-Uruguay 1-0 in 1970. Fontaine’s 6-3 in 1958 took him to 13, a record that felt briefly reachable before returning to the museum, perhaps safe until a 64-team World Cup magnifies mismatches.

Later winners also scored in the small final, Grzegorz Lato seven v Brazil 1-0 in 1974, Toto Schillaci six v England 2-1 in 1990, and Davor Suker six v Netherlands 2-1 in 1998 at the Parc des Princes.

Sometimes the winner stays silent, Miroslav Klose, five, in Germany-Portugal 3-1 in 2006, or Harry Kane, six, in England-Belgium 0-2 in 2018. Legend has it Stoichkov raged in 1994 in Pasadena, and with Bulgaria 4-0 down to Sweden at half-time, final score, he stayed on six and shared with Oleg Salenko.

Source: L'Équipe