The tone was set when Lionel Messi scored a historic hat-trick against Algeria just a few hours after Kylian Mbappe netted a brilliant brace against Senegal on the opening matchday for Argentina and France, respectively.
The following day, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham followed suit by finding the scoresheet in England's opening 4-2 victory over Croatia.
Ever since, the awesome foursome have been involved in a race for the ages for both the and , the awards given to the top scorer and best player at the global showpiece.
After Mbappe failed to register a goal or an assist , attention now turns to Bellingham, Kane and Messi as n the final four tomorrow.
As FIFA examines, there is everything to play for in the battle for the prestigious individual prizes.
Bellingham has earned for his exceptional performances for England, which have included delightful doubles against and then . The Real Madrid superstar has arguably been the Three Lions' most impactful player in their run to the semi-finals, not only for his goal contributions but his efforts in all phases of play. Bellingham has formed a dynamic partnership with Kane, demonstrating his pace, power, technical ability and ability to meet the big moments. Aged just 23, he is on course to become England's greatest-ever World Cup star.
Kane came into the World Cup after an exceptional season for Bayern Munich in which he scored 61 goals in 51 competitive games. The England striker continued where he left off by scoring a brace to equal Gary Lineker’s England record of 10 World Cup goals. The frontman then added to his legend with goals against Panama, Congo DR and then the match-winner against Mexico in the Round of 16. Now on 14 total World Cup goals, Kane is looking to continue his electrifying partnership with Bellingham to lead the Three Lions to the final and cement his legacy as one of football's all-time great marksmen.
Mbappe started the global finals by netting a brace against Senegal to become France's all-time leading scorer with 58 goals. He has since had a tournament for the ages as part of a lethal partnership up front with Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise. Mbappe has been a key player for France in the knockout rounds, with crucial goals against Sweden, Paraguay and Morocco as Les Bleus progressed to the bronze final after falling to Spain in the semis. With eight goals and three assists, he has the edge in the race for the adidas Golden Boot — and still just 27 he looks on course to ultimately become the leading World Cup scorer of all time.
Messi's hat-trick was a mere taster of what was to follow for the Argentina icon. Moving into a tie with Miroslav Klose's all-time World Cup goals record with 16, Messi quickly entered a class of his own with eight total goals at the North American showpiece . The statistics do not adequately explain Messi's impact, however. He almost single-handedly willed Argentina to victory over Cabo Verde and Egypt, in the Rounds of 32 and 16 respectively, in the process. Aged 39 and with Mbappe firmly on his tail, Messi is playing each game as if it is his last.
Sources: FIFA Official
