What happens if the golden boot is tied? Do assists count at the World Cup?

KYLIAN MBAPPE and Lionel Messi will be determined to fire their nations to World Cup glory this afternoon - but there is another special award on the line too.

Messi's masterclass in the semi-final helped Argentina to a 3-0 pummelling on Croatia.

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And Mbappe's speed caused the history-making Moroccans all sorts of trouble as France beat the African giants 2-0 in their last-4 tie.

But on a side note, both players are chasing the World Cup golden boot.

However, not much separates the Paris Saint-Germain teammates which could leave us with a conundrum on our hands.

What happens if the golden boot is tied?

When two or more players finish tied on goals scored during a World Cup, a tiebreaker comes into play.

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The first tiebreaker will be the number of assists provided by those players in contention for the golden boot.

And if that cannot separate the goal scorers, then it goes down to minutes played.

Who is leading the race for the golden boot?

Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are tied for goals scored in the run-in for the golden boot.

However, Messi has one more assist which edges him into the lead.

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1. Kylian Mbappe - 8 goals / 2 assists
2. Lionel Messi - 7 goals / 3 assists
3. Julian Alvarez - 4 goals / 0 assists
4. Olivier Giroud - 4 goals / 0 assists