Lionel Messi vs Kylian Mbappe: Who is the Best Golden Boot Bet?

Once the dust settled from the upset-heavy quarterfinals, the FIFA World Cup featured four teams. But, fans around the soccer world (outside of two small countries) knew exactly what they wanted the final matchup to be.

Fear not soccer fans, your wish has been granted. Featuring two of the best teams in the world, the 2022 World Cup Final features a heavyweight clash between the defending champion French Men's National Team and Argentina in Lionel Messi's final dance.

This game is loaded with storylines, especially surrounding the two countries' respective stars: Messi and Kylian Mbappé. Ironically, both stars lead the tournament with 5 goals apiece and have a great opportunity to not only win the tournament's Golden Boot award, but do so with a historic goal that could live down in infamy.

But, who is the better bet to win the award.

The betting odds on FanDuel Sportsbook like Messi. He's favored at -180 odds compared to Mbappe's +175.

However, it's not that simple. Not only are Messia and Mbappe tied in terms of goal-scoring, but they've played on near-identical teams thus far. France has a slight edge in terms of total goal scoring, putting 13 in the back of the net compared to Argentina's 12. And these two teams rate similarly in defensive metrics. Both sides have conceded just 5 goals in tournament play.

So, back to the question, who is the better bet? For me, it all comes down to feel. Messi is on his last dance and will play in the final World Cup of his storied career. What better way to go out than a Golden Boot award, a World Cup title, and etching his name in soccer history as one of the best to ever do it.

He also plays a bigger role within Argentina's audience. He's played nearly 100 more minutes and leads the tournament with 15 chances created. Mbappe, more of a pure shooter, has only created 8 of his own chances.

Take Messi at -180 odds.

Adam Taylor McKillop is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Adam Taylor also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username atmckillop. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

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