Soccer fans worldwide are putting out their 2022 World Cup brackets as the FIFA World Cup schedule is finalized. The influence of COVID on qualifying made this World Cup cycle exceedingly odd to begin with, and now the tournament will be held in the winter for the first time due to the severe heat in Qatar throughout the summer. On Sunday, Qatar will play Ecuador in the opening match of the 2022 World Cup. On Monday, the USMNT will play Wales in the first game of their bid to advance.
The best player at every World Cup receives the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball, which was first presented in 1982. With less than a year till the start of the World Cup, 12 nations, together with hosts Qatar, have qualified. Since then, 12 different players have received the honor. Former global champions Argentina, Brazil, Germany, and Spain have joined the other four semi finalists from 2018, but recent European winners Portugal and Italy still have work to do. Here, we take a look at the front-runners for the Golden Ball award at the 2022 World Cup.
Top 10 Contenders for the World Cup 2022 Contenders
Luis Messi (Argentina)
For legacy considerations, this World Cup may be Messi’s most significant one yet. Many still contend that he must prevail before being compared to Diego Maradona. The fact that Messi has had an incredible start to his career for Paris Saint-Germain should give him impetus. On that note, Messi is unquestionably in the running for the Golden Ball for sentimental reasons alone. With an average of 1.2 projected goal participation per 90 minutes from non-penalty scenarios, Messi has been the most dangerous attacker in the top five European leagues this season. He is getting into good positions and producing high-value opportunities.
Neymar (Brazil) (Brazil)
Whether it was fair or not, Neymar’s alleged theatrics at the 2018 World Cup received the most attention. Hopefully this year we’ll all be speaking about his genius instead, for the good of everyone. Without a doubt, Neymar possesses exceptional potential. We would all have been attempting to play like him on the school playground. He is entertaining, cheeky, and, perhaps most importantly, effective. He got the season off to an explosive start. Only Mbappé has recorded more participations in a single month of play since Opta started tracking the tournament in 2006-07 than he did in August, when he was engaged in 13 Ligue 1 goals.
De Bruyne, Kevin (Belgium)
The phrase “so-called golden generation” has seemed to preface references of Belgium’s men’s national team for, oh, a generation at this point. For the majority of them, the 2022 World Cup will likely be their last. However, Kevin De Bruyne stands out among a bunch that is generally in decline. The Manchester City powerhouse is still at the top of his game and is in fantastic shape going into the competition. He has nine assists after just 14 Premier League games this season, one more than he had in all of last season’s 30 games combined (eight). Right now, he’s on track to at least match his own Premier League seasonal assist record of 20 in 2019–20, which currently shares the competition record for assists in a single season with Thierry Henry’s 20 with Arsenal in 2002–03.
Mbappé Kylian (France)
According to the persistent rumors of the previous week, Mbappé will ostensibly be attempting to establish himself as the shop window display in Qatar. According to reports, Mbappé is dissatisfied with PSG’s transfer policies and his stated inability to play on the left or as a number nine. Mbappé’s performance this season, though, doesn’t seem to have changed significantly from the 2021–22 season. Although he is interacting with the ball less frequently, his touches inside the opposition’s box have climbed from 10 to 11.6 per 90 minutes. With 19.9 carries per 90 minutes in Ligue 1 this season, Mbappé is carrying the ball more than he ever has while wearing a PSG jersey. His previous high in this metric was 18.8 in 2020–21.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Even Ronaldo, who has epitomized confidence throughout his career, undoubtedly does not believe he will play in the 2026 World Cup. Being 41, it would be a significant accomplishment. He’ll probably make his World Cup debut here for the last time, and he’ll arrive in Qatar with much to prove. Ronaldo is just two goals away from breaking the legendary Eusébio’s record of nine World Cup goals for Portugal, which will be one of his first goals. It may be difficult to envision Ronaldo competing to be the greatest player in Qatar at this point merely based on current form; it hasn’t been an easy season for him at Manchester United.
Kane, Harry (England)
With his six goals throughout England’s fantastic tournament, which they ultimately lost in the semi-finals to Croatia, the Tottenham Hotspur striker took home the Golden Boot as the year’s top goalscorer. Kane, who is currently two goals shy of Wayne Rooney’s men’s team record of 53 goals, is likely to be the most obvious sign of goals for England this summer. The fact that just one player has ever won both the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards at the same World Cup—the Italian Salvatore Schillaci in 1990—is irrelevant.
Roberto Mancini (Italy)
The fact that the European champions are ranked eighth—below the teams they defeated in the semifinal and championship games of Euro 2020—may seem churlish, but their team lacks the potential to be the best in the world. The Azzurri, deserving champions in the summer, occasionally displayed captivating brilliance, but they also occasionally relied on chance in the knockout round. Through excellent coaching, Roberto Mancini was able to give his team the appearance of a well-drilled club side, but he lacks the talent and young players who are just starting to emerge that many of his rivals do.
Denmark
Denmark advanced quickly to the World Cup following seven straight victories wherein they did not allow a single goal to be conceded. Even while their group may appear to be supportive, in the past, it could not have been viewed as a stroll in the park. The team of Kasper Hjulmand has recently made rapid progress, and Denmark is now seeking to get past the Euro 2020 semifinals. Mikkel Damsgaard and Andreas Skov Olsen have risen up as a result of Christian Eriksen’s tragic departure, giving the team the unpredictable boost it needed. The squad’s age distribution is now a lot more encouraging, and play has picked up on both ends of the field.
Netherlands
The Netherlands has some impressive talented players, but the disparity in caliber between their great players and supporting cast may prevent them from reaching their full potential. The side’s spine is incredibly sturdy. They should be exceptionally strong in defense with Virgil van Dijk, Matthijs de Ligt, Stefan de Vrij, Daley Blind, and Denzel Dumfries available, but occasionally they can crumble for a variety of reasons. In games against Turkey, Scotland, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, and Montenegro this year, they have given up at least two goals. They look to Memphis Depay at the other end of the field for motivation.
Spain
Even while Spain has played some of the most visually appealing football this year, they have fallen short when it counts. They controlled both the Nations League championship match against France and their Euro 2020 semi final against Italy, but they were unable to capitalize on their possession of the ball. They lack the previous Spain teams’ experience. Unai Simón, Eric Garca, Dani Olmo, Pau, and Ferran Torres have significantly lowered the team’s average age, but the young stars Pedri, Gavi, and Ansu Fati provide the most optimism for the future. Although they are very exciting, 2022 might be too soon.
Conclusion
With the exception of Diego Forlán in 2010, whose Uruguayan team ended fourth after losing to the Netherlands in the semi-final, none of the previous six World Cup Golden Ball winners have ever seen their country lift the World Cup trophy. Five of those winners had played for losing finalists. Romário, whose Brazil team defeated Italy in the World Cup final on penalties to win their fourth of five championships, was the last player to win both the Golden Ball and the tournament itself. Salvatore Schillaci of Italy, who scored six goals for the host nation in the 1990 World Cup, was the last player to win both the Golden Ball and Golden Boot awards for the best player in a single World Cup.
Oliver Kahn of Germany is the only goalkeeper to have received the official World Cup Golden Ball award; he did so in 2002, despite Germany losing the championship match to Brazil and making a rare mistake that led to Ronaldo’s opening goal by spilling Rivaldo’s shot into his path. Unsurprisingly, Kahn also won the Golden Glove prize for the 2002 World Cup’s best goalkeeper.