Lionel Messi best World Cup bet boosts, top goalscorer odds and Golden Ball odds

Lionel Messi has aged like a fine (Argentinian) wine. At 39, he is arguably having his best ever World Cup – it’s his sixth in all, having played in each one since 2006. His two assists in the space of seven minutes turned the semi-final against England on its head, and Argentina will now face Spain in Sunday’s final in New Jersey.

Having completed the fairytale of leading his nation to glory in 2022, Messi is now just one win away from doing it again, which is something no nation has achieved since Brazil in 1958 and 1962. Either way, he has made history in becoming the competition’s all-time leading scorer.

Many felt he would ride off into the sunset after the Qatar tournament, but he has returned for one last dance – and, incredibly, he has eight goals and four assists in seven games so far.

Given he’s still the most talked about footballer on the planet, expect to see an abundance of bookmaker offers involving the Argentine ahead of Sunday’s showpiece. Those will range from a first-ever Golden Boot to a third Golden Ball and everything in between.

Here, we’ll look at the most popular betting markets involving Messi, assess his chances of landing more individual honours and highlight some of the best ways punters can get involved.

Lionel Messi Betting Odds

Best Lionel Messi World Cup bet boosts

Lionel Messi is still the biggest attraction at the World Cup. That alone makes him box office for bookmakers and their boosted markets.

• To score anytime: Price boosts and enhanced odds for World Cup are guaranteed when Messi’s in town. This summer is no different with the Inter Miami forward still acting as Argentina’s saviour – rubbishing any notion that he would play a reduced role at this tournament.
• First goalscorer: A riskier proposition than anytime scorer, but one that could still appeal with Messi starting every game bar one – a dead rubber against Jordan in the group stage. This is a bet that would’ve come in twice during the group stages and also for the Round of 32 clash with Cape Verde!
• Shots on target: Not quite as appealing as it would be for someone like Kylian Mbappé, who shoots whenever possible, but definitely worth keeping an eye on if bookmakers are generous with their boosts. After all, when Messi shoots, it’s usually on target.
• Assists: Having produced 390 assists in his club career and a further 66 for Argentina, there’s every chance bookmakers will tempt punters with enhanced prices in this market. Messi’s two assists against England took him past Fritz Walter’s long-standing mark and made him the outright record holder with 12 World Cup assists – including 10 in the knockout stages alone, six more than any other player in the competition’s history.
• Player specials: I sound like a broken record, but it wouldn’t be a World Cup without a million specials on Lionel Messi’s performances. Expect Golden Ball, Golden Boot, Argentina’s top goalscorer and tournament milestone markets.
• Matchday Bet Builders: Messi remains one of the few players capable of scoring, assisting and winning player of the match in the same fixture – see the Egypt comeback! That’s exactly the sort of profile bookmakers love when putting together Bet Builders. Throw in a Super Sub offer and they suddenly become a lot more tempting.

Lionel Messi top goalscorer odds

Can Messi finally win the Golden Boot at the age of 39? It would certainly be one of the stories of the tournament, and it seems to be writing itself, with an unbelievable tally of eight goals in seven games.

Mbappé has matched him on eight, but the Frenchman’s tournament ends with Saturday’s third-place play-off against England, a game that also features Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham on six goals apiece. Messi gets the last word in Sunday’s final, and his four assists to Mbappé’s three mean he holds the tiebreaker if the pair finish level. The only caveat is the opposition: Spain have conceded just once all summer.

Remarkably, despite winning virtually every major honour available to him, the World Cup Golden Boot remains absent from Messi’s trophy cabinet.

The closest he came was in 2022, when his seven goals were only bettered by Mbappé’s eight. In fact it took the Frenchman scoring a hat-trick in the final to deny him.

There are reasons to believe he can add goal number nine or even ten to his tally. Messi continues to produce outstanding numbers for Inter Miami and he also knows the stadiums, conditions and climate very well. His touch, dribbling and finishing are still (clearly) razor sharp. He, of course, scored twice in the final four years ago!

Messi led the pricing lists for top scorer heading into the semi-finals, with Mbappé and England pair Kane and Bellingham still in contention.

👟 Bet on Messi to take home the Golden Boot at 8/13 with Betfred 👟

Lionel Messi Golden Ball odds

I must admit, this is a bet that I’ve already placed and feel quietly confident about getting over the line.

Unlike the Golden Boot, the Golden Ball isn’t awarded to the tournament’s leading goalscorer. Instead, it goes to the player judged to have made the biggest overall impact on the World Cup.

That’s important because Messi has already won it twice, in 2014 and 2022. In fact, no player in history has collected the award more often.

This really does feel like the perfect storm. This is widely expected to be Messi’s final World Cup, Argentina are now in Sunday’s final and the award itself is ultimately decided by a media vote.

Given the emotional attachment to Messi across world football, two assists to win a semi-final is exactly the sort of moment that sways voters – and a repeat on the biggest stage of all would surely settle it.

⚽ Back Lionel Messi to win the Golden Ball at 1/8 with BOYLEsports ⚽

Argentina to win the World Cup odds

This is a question I’ve found myself wrestling with over the last few days. Can Argentina really defend their World Cup crown?

History certainly isn’t on their side. Only two nations have successfully retained the trophy and nobody has managed it since Brazil back in 1962. That’s a daunting statistic, no matter how talented your squad may be.

As mentioned however, the core of Argentina’s World Cup-winning side is still there. Under Lionel Scaloni, the Albiceleste have followed their triumph in Qatar with another Copa America title and continue to look like one of the most battle-hardened tournament teams on the planet. All of that resilience has been on show across three straight knockout escapes – most recently those two goals in the last five minutes against England.

They need just one more win to do it – against European champions Spain in Sunday’s final in New Jersey.

The bottom line is that Messi and Argentina’s fortunes remain inextricably linked.

Now that the reigning champions are in the final, his chances of winning a first Golden Boot, a third Golden Ball and landing plenty of bookmaker specials have all improved dramatically.

Best ways to back Lionel Messi during the World Cup

Here are the markets that appeal most to me heading into what is expected to be Messi’s final World Cup.

• Golden Ball: This is my favourite Messi bet. He’s won the award twice already and the combination of Argentina’s chances, the subjective voting process and the emotional pull of a final World Cup makes a third Golden Ball very appealing.
• Argentina to win the World Cup: If you believe Messi has one last fairytale left in him, backing Argentina outright probably makes more sense than many of his individual matchday markets.
• Specials and boosts: Messi will be the poster boy for bookmaker promotions throughout the tournament. Any enhanced prices involving goals, assists or Argentina victories are always worth a second look.
• Golden Boot: Messi came agonisingly close in 2022 and the race could not be tighter this time: level with Mbappé on eight, holding the assists tiebreaker, and playing 24 hours after the Frenchman’s last game. Kane and Bellingham, on six each, need a big Saturday to crash the party.

Lionel Messi previous World Cup record

Messi’s World Cup record is an interesting one, and actually quite tricky to unpack in terms of raw goal contributions.

Despite making five appearances at the tournament and lifting the trophy in 2022, he has only really had one truly prolific World Cup campaign (before this one).

The Argentina captain scored one goal in 2006, failed to find the net in 2010, managed four in 2014 and one in 2018 before exploding into life in Qatar with seven goals and three assists as Argentina were crowned world champions.

That said, his overall numbers still stack up well. Messi has now scored 21 World Cup goals, provided 12 assists and played more matches at the tournament than anyone else in history. He has also won the Golden Ball award twice, in 2014 and 2022.

Perhaps the most encouraging sign for punters is that Messi tends to save his best football for the biggest occasions. His performance in Qatar was arguably the defining achievement of his career and he stepped up in each and every knockout round.

Final verdict

I don’t think it’s too difficult to see where I’ve landed in the Lionel Messi betting markets at this World Cup. For me, he’s the standout Golden Ball candidate for all the reasons outlined above, and reaching the final has only strengthened that case. The Golden Boot is closer to a coin flip than it was: I leaned towards Kylian Mbappé earlier in the tournament, but Messi now holds the tiebreaker and gets the final word on Sunday.

As for matchday betting, I’d be more inclined to look at first goalscorer and assist specials. Messi is more likely to start matches than finish them these days, which makes those markets a little more appealing from a value perspective – and after Atlanta, nobody needs reminding what he can do as a creator. If you’re backing him to score, a Super Sub-style promotion is almost a must.

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