Those leading race for Golden Boot, Golden Ball and Golden Glove

With its drama, excitement and thrilling moments, the ongoing FIFA World Cup has reached its final stage. Only two matches remain—the final and the third-place playoff. Before the champions are presented with the iconic trophy, FIFA will also hand out the tournament's individual awards, a race that has become one of the biggest talking points.

On Sunday (July 19), Argentina and Spain will face off in the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Once the match concludes, FIFA will announce the winners of the tournament's top individual honors.

Six major individual awards will be presented, with the three most prestigious being the Golden Boot, Golden Ball, and Golden Glove.

Golden Boot

The Golden Boot is awarded to the tournament's top scorer. This year's race has turned into a thrilling battle between Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé, who are currently tied with eight goals each.

Messi, however, has the edge with four assists, compared to Mbappé's three.

According to FIFA's rules, if players finish level on goals, assists are used as the first tiebreaker. If they are still tied, the player who has played fewer minutes ranks higher. As a result, the final and the third-place playoff will determine the ultimate winner of the award.

Norway's Erling Haaland sits just behind the two leaders with seven goals. England's Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have scored six goals each, while France's Ousmane Dembélé and Spain's Mikel Oyarzabal have netted five apiece.

Golden Ball

The Golden Ball is awarded to the best player of the World Cup. Lionel Messi claimed the honor in 2022. The winner is selected through a vote by accredited journalists covering the tournament, based on recommendations from FIFA's Technical Study Group.

History shows that the award does not always go to a player from the winning team. Zinedine Zidane won it in 2006, Lionel Messi in 2014, and Luka Modrić in 2018, despite their teams finishing as runners-up. This is because voting is completed before the final kicks off. Messi was the exception in 2022, when he won both the World Cup and the Golden Ball.

The Argentine legend remains the only player to have won the Golden Ball twice. Now 39 years old, he is once again regarded as the leading contender. Other prominent candidates include Kylian Mbappé, Michael Olise, Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland, and Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha.

Golden Glove

The Golden Glove recognizes the tournament's best goalkeeper. Argentina's Emiliano Martínez won the award in 2022.

Goalkeepers are assessed based on key saves, clean sheets, and their overall influence on matches. Introduced in 1994, the award was known as the Lev Yashin Award until 2010.

Goalkeepers have delivered several outstanding performances at this World Cup. Cape Verde's Vozinha has earned worldwide praise for a series of spectacular saves. Other leading contenders include Orlando Gill of Uruguay, Diogo Costa of Portugal, Gregor Kobel of Switzerland, Yassine Bounou of Morocco, and Mostafa Shobeir of Egypt.

The winners of these prestigious individual awards will be confirmed after the tournament's final two matches. Based on current performances, Lionel Messi appears to hold the advantage in the races for both the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball, while Vozinha and Spain goalkeeper Unai Simón have emerged as the leading contenders for the Golden Glove.