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    • Leading candidates for World Cup's Golden Boot, Golden Glove, Young Player awards

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    Alongside winning soccer’s most coveted trophy, a few individual players can walk away with more hardware from the 2022 men's FIFA World Cup.

    Looking ahead to the final, some of the brightest talents in the game have caught plenty of eyes during their time in Qatar. CTVNews.ca looks at the top candidates for the Golden Boot, Golden Glove and Young Player of the Tournament awards.

    Will someone from Argentina or France walk away with two or more trophies? Or will the individual award winners come from other teams?

    GOLDEN BOOT: TOP SCORER

    The basis of the game is to score, and some attackers hit top form at the right time in Qatar.

    The tournament has seen some absolute batterings, including Brazil and Croatia’s 4-1 wins over South Korea and Canada, respectively, Portugal’s 6-1 win over Switzerland and Spain’s 7-0 win over Costa Rica.

    France and England have scored the most goals at the tournament (13), followed by Argentina and Portugal (12). France and Argentina can add to their respective totals in the final.

    Here is who is in contention to finish as the top individual scorer:

    Olivier Giroud (France). 4 goals.

    AC Milan striker Olivier Giroud is now a France legend after becoming the country’s all-time leading scorer (53 goals). He brought his form from Italy over to Qatar, and the absence of Karim Benzema allowed Giroud to lead Les Bleus to the final despite being 36 years old. Aging like fine wine, truly.

    Julian Alvarez (Argentina). 4 goals, 1 assist.

    Have you heard of that lethal goal-scorer from Manchester City? No, not Erling Haaland, the other one. Julian Alvarez (22) has stepped out of the shadows in Qatar and stars for Argentina proving why he shouldn’t be overlooked at club level. His performance against Croatia in the semifinals (two goals and one assist) also puts him within reach of the Golden Boot.

    Kylian Mbappe (France). 5 goals, 2 assists.

    Last World Cup’s superstar Kylian Mbappe is doing it again on the world’s biggest stage, leading France in scoring and with two assists. Electric pace separates the 23-year-old Paris-Saint Germain star from the rest as his counter-attacking skills propel him to the top of the charts. He scored in the last final, he’ll be keen to do so again.

    Lionel Messi (Argentina). 5 goals, 3 assists.

    Then finally, the man of the hour sits at the top of the charts. After leaving Barcelona for PSG in 2021, many thought Lionel Messi was in decline. However, he’s done the exact opposite, playing some of the best soccer of his career. Five goals and three assists so far in Qatar (that includes a missed penalty, too). How high can he go?

    GOLDEN GLOVE: BEST GOALKEEPER

    Even if there is plenty of talent up front in attack, the key to winning games is a strong defence and that theme seems to be truly alive in Qatar.

    At the focal point of a strong defence is an alert goalkeeper and at the World Cup a few have been a step above the rest -- though they’re not the initial names you would have anticipated heading into the tournament.

    Here are the candidates for the Golden Glove winner. All remain in the competition.

    Emiliano Martinez (Argentina). 5 goals conceded.

    Argentina finds itself in the final, and an emphatic Emiliano Martinez helped them get there. After a disastrous opening loss to Saudi Arabia, the Aston Villa man kept Robert Lewandowski off the scoresheet against Poland, had an impressive shootout performance against a surging Netherlands side, then a clean sheet in the semi-finals against Croatia. The final against France is his biggest test.

    Dominik Livakovic (Croatia). 3 goals conceded.

    Croatia’s magical run to the semifinals was led by midfielder Luka Modric, but 27-year-old goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic of Dinamo Zagreb played a key role between the posts. Livakovic kept clean sheets against second-ranked Belgium and another semifinalist, Morocco, before helping knock top-ranked Brazil out on penalties. He started all six games and conceded just three goals.

    Yassine Bounou (Morocco). 3 goals conceded.

    Another name that impressed was Yassine Bounou of Morocco. Ranked 22nd, not many expected the African nation to make it out of the group, but Morocco only conceded once up until the semis (an own-goal against Canada), blanking top talent from Belgium, Croatia, Spain and Portugal. Bounou also pulled off an impressive shootout performance against La Roja, conceding zero from the spot. Only reigning champion France beat him (twice).

    BEST YOUNG PLAYER

    Finally, the award with the most potential strapped to its name is the Best Young Player Award which is handed to the player with the most promise aged 21 or younger.

    In previous campaigns, star names such as Pele (Brazil), Michael Owen (England), Landon Donovan (United States) and Thomas Muller (Germany) earned the honours. The most recent winner is France’s Kylian Mbappe, who at 19, helped Les Bleus win the World Cup title.

    Multiple up-and-coming stars eagerly forced their names into tournament discussions. Here are the leading candidates for the award.

    Josko Gvardiol (Croatia)

    Again, a strong defence was key for many teams in Qatar, and the standout player from the entire tournament was RB Leipzig youngster Joško Gvardiol. The 20-year-old averaged 1.5 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 5.5 clearances per game, helping Croatia only concede three goals. His only struggle was defending Lionel Messi.

    Enzo Fernandez (Argentina)

    Next up is finalist Enzo Fernandez whose creativity and eagerness have caught the attention of many. The Benfica youngster has one goal, and one assist to his name and played every minute in the knockout rounds with Argentina. He did, however, miss a penalty in the shootout against the Netherlands. Only 21, he is a talent tipped to move to a top league in Europe following the tournament.

    Jude Bellingham (England)

    Then there is rising leader Jude Bellingham of England. Widely considered as one of the players to watch heading into the tournament, the Borussia Dortmund midfielder stepped onto the world’s biggest stage and didn’t miss a beat despite being 19 years old. He scored England’s first goal and registered one assist alongside starting all five games ahead of other senior midfielders. Whoever signs him up has a gem on their hands and England’s future looks bright. 

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