Argentina’s little maestro can lead from the front

FOR so long the star attraction at Barcelona, Lionel Messi has had to get used to being just one third of a star-studded attack at Paris St-Germain.

However, he remains an iconic talisman for Argentina and looks ready to cement his legacy by playing a starring role at the 2022 World Cup.

Irrespective of events in Qatar, Messi will be remembered as one of the top two talents of his generation alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, and enters discussions as to who is the greatest player of all time.

The 35-year-old’s litany of honours at club level include four Champions League winner’s medals and ten La Liga titles, but he was unrewarded on the international stage until captaining Argentina to Copa America glory last year.

Messi was named the player of the tournament at the 2021 Copa America in Brazil, where he scored four goals and shared top-scorer honours with Colombia’s Luis Diaz.

Messi has come to life in recent weeks, scoring eight goals in his last ten club appearances, and his renaissance might not have been fully accounted for in the World Cup betting.

There are two markets available and bettors need to decide which one works for them – some will settle on the traditional way of a dead-heat if there is a tie, while others will use the official Golden Boot rules which has a countback on assists.

Messi makes sense to use the Golden Boot market because he is also a creative genius and the PSG superstar warmed up for the tournament with five of Argentina’s six goals in September friendly successes over Honduras and Jamaica

HILE Argentina rely heavily on Messi, England could be just as dependent on Harry Kane, who is bidding to become the first player to top the scoring charts at successive World Cup finals.

Kane is the bookmakers’ favourite to do just that and certainly has scope to get off to a good start with England widely expected to make short work of Group B opponents Iran, USA and Wales.

However, England are approaching the tournament short of confidence after a dismal Nations League campaign and Kane may not get as many matches as he enjoyed at Russia 2018.

England could face a quarter-final showdown against France, whose hopes for a successful title defence will be influenced by the performances of their star strikers Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema.

It is hard to think of a better front two at the tournament, but it is far from certain that France head coach Didier Deschamps will get the best out of them.

Les Bleus often lacked creativity during their disappointing Nations League campaign this summer and Mbappe and Benzema look short enough in top goalscorer betting.

Like his PSG teammate Messi, Neymar carries the weight of his nation to Qatar and the Brazil star is a 12-1

chance while Messi’s great rival Ronaldo is a 16-1 shot to land the prize for the first time

ERMANY were the second highest scorers in European World Cup qualifying, netting 36 goals in ten games, and have a few players who could contend for top-scorer honours. .

Bayern Munich’s Serge Gnabry is one to look out for having notched 20 goals in 36 internationals, but he might be eclipsed by his 19-year-old Bayern teammate Jamal Musiala, who is one of the most exciting teenage talents around.

Musiala has scored just one goal in 17 internationals but his career looks ready for liftoff. He is Bayern’s top Bundesliga scorer this season with nine goals in 13 games and could fill his boots in Qatar.

Musiala is also hugely creative and his eye for a killer pass could benefit Chelsea’s Kai Havertz, who appears likely to start the tournament in his favoured ‘false nine’ position.

Havertz has been in and out of the Chelsea team this season but is more settled in the Germany set-up and could hit the goal trail in the Gulf.