In football, which award is given to the top scorer at the World Cup?
VerifiedAnswer: Golden Boot
Explanation:
The Golden Boot award is presented to the player who scores the most goals during a FIFA World Cup tournament. This prestigious individual honor recognizes the tournament's leading goalscorer and has become one of the most coveted awards in international football alongside the World Cup trophy itself.
The award was first introduced in 1982 and was originally called the Golden Shoe. FIFA later renamed it to the Golden Boot to avoid confusion with the European Golden Shoe award given to top scorers in domestic leagues. The winner receives a golden boot-shaped trophy that symbolizes their exceptional scoring prowess on football's biggest stage.
When players are tied with the same number of goals, FIFA uses specific tie-breaking criteria to determine the winner. The first tiebreaker is the number of assists provided by each player. If players are still tied, then the total minutes played becomes the deciding factor, with the player who achieved their goal tally in fewer minutes being declared the winner.
Some memorable Golden Boot winners include Just Fontaine of France, who holds the record with 13 goals in the 1958 World Cup, and more recent winners like Harry Kane (England, 2018) with 6 goals and Kylian Mbappé (France, 2022) with 8 goals. These players have etched their names in football history through their exceptional goal-scoring performances on the world's most prestigious football stage.
