Who will finish as the top goalscorer?

Argentina should have a productive stay in Qatar and that only enhances the chances of Lionel Messi. He has been excellent for Paris St-Germain this season, scoring seven goals and registering ten assists in Ligue 1, and could make hay in a group featuring Mexico, Poland and Saudi Arabia.

Reaching the semi-finals guarantees an extra two games so it makes sense to target players from teams you expect to go deep. I fancy Argentina to have a strong tournament and Lionel Messi continues to be their most reliable source of goals so he looks worth a bet.

A good group stage often plays a key role in the Golden Boot race, so I’ll go for an outsider in Cody Gakpo, who has a shot at racking up goals against Qatar and Ecuador in Group A and has scored in two of Netherlands’ last three games.

England’s generous group draw means Harry Kane merits a win-only punt and Lautaro Martinez, who has scored 21 goals in his first 40 caps for Argentina, is a tempting price. Cody Gakpo of the Netherlands and Portugal’s Bruno Fernandes are outsiders to consider.

The top scorer, best player and so on tend to come from a team who either win or go a long way. So if you call the outright market well you are in with a chance in these too – and the opposite if you do not. For top scorer I say Neymar.

France look likely to make a bold defence of their title and while Kylian Mbappe will be all the rage, don’t forget back-in-favour Karim Benzema. The Ballon d’Or winner was the top goalscorer in the Champions League last term and can fill his boots in straightforward group games against Tunisia and Australia.