The Golden Boot race is on fire: Haaland to seven, Mbappe and Kane chasing, who ends up top scorer?

[HeartbreakKidJason71]

One of the best individual subplots of the tournament is heating up nicely. Erling Haaland has surged to seven goals after his double knocked Brazil out, and he now leads a Golden Boot race that features some of the biggest names in the sport all within touching distance of each other with the quarterfinals still to come

Kylian Mbappe is right in the mix having retaken and traded the lead through the earlier rounds, a penalty against Paraguay keeping him level near the top, and Harry Kane sits on six after his cool spot kick at the Azteca kept England alive and his own bid ticking over. Three all time great goalscorers separated by a goal or two heading into the last eight

The fascinating thing about a Golden Boot race at this stage is how much it now depends on how far the team goes, because a striker whose side reaches the final simply gets more games and more chances than a rival dumped out in the quarters, no matter how hot they are right now

That makes Haaland's position slightly precarious despite the lead, since Norway are the least likely of the contenders' teams to reach the final on paper, while Mbappe and Kane are attached to sides many expect to go deep. Form leads the table, fixtures might decide it

So who is your Golden Boot winner, the in form Haaland who might run out of games, one of the penalty box veterans on a team built to go the distance, or a dark horse from Spain or elsewhere who gets hot at the right moment, and does the individual race actually matter to you or is it a sideshow to the trophy?

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[RustyHawk]

Haaland leads but is in the worst position of the three because Norway are least likely to keep playing, the Golden Boot at this stage is really a bet on which team reaches the final, not who is hottest

[DarkMatter23]

Never bet against Kane for a Golden Boot, penalties, poaching, and a team that could go deep, he racks them up quietly and is level or close without anyone noticing, the classic tournament accumulator

[Delulu]

Mbappe on a France side that looks like finalists is the smart pick, most chances, best supply, and the penalty duties, the fixtures favour him more than the raw form suggests

[Mark94]

It is a sideshow to the trophy for me, ask any of them and they would swap five goals for the actual cup in a heartbeat, the Boot is a consolation for the beaten finalist historically

[Neuer]

Haaland dragging Norway to even a semifinal changes this entirely, if the team keeps winning he keeps scoring, and right now he looks like he could score against anyone left

[Emma92]

The dark horse nobody mentions is a Spanish forward, if Spain go all the way with that supply line someone in red gets hot and wins it from the pack, Oyarzabal is already among the goals

[Yasmin56]

Love that three of the greatest goalscorers of the era are separated by a goal at the business end, whatever happens the race is a proper watch alongside the trophy

[TheGame_Fan]

Kane on six with a penalty routine and a deep run ahead was my pick, he didn't not need to be spectacular, he just needed England to keep playing and he would have finished top if they had got through to the final

[Nomad]

The team dependency is why the Boot is a flawed individual award, the best striker often goes home early with a hatful while a penalty taker on the finalist coasts past them, it is half luck of the draw

[ReplyGuy26]

Whoever wins it, Haaland arriving at his first World Cup and immediately leading the scoring is a statement, the biggest stage was the one thing missing from his record and he is answering it