What happened when four players were tied for the Golden Boot at the 2010 World Cup

Despite being tied with three others on five goals, Germany forward Thomas Muller won the Golden Boot award at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa - and it's all thanks to FIFA's tiebreaker rules.

First introduced in 1982, the Golden Boot is awarded to the top goalscorer at every edition of the World Cup, with Italy's Paulo Rossi being the first recipient after scoring six goals in seven games.

The most recent winner was France's Kylian Mbappe, who scored eight goals in 2022 before France were pipped to the post by Argentina.

On that occasion, Lionel Messi was eventually trumped to the trophy by Mbappe, despite becoming the first player to score in each round of the same World Cup since the last-16 round was introduced in 1986.

Four years on and the Argentine is currently leading Mbappe in the Golden Boot race after notching four assists compared to his rival's three, although that could all change in the coming days as both players sit on eight goals.

Messi notched two assists against England. Image credit: Getty

Mbappe will get the chance to overtake Messi on Saturday as France take on England in the third-place play-off. Messi, meanwhile, will be looking to find the net in Sunday's final against Spain.

What happens if both players are tied on goals?

If two or more players score the same number of goals, the number of assists (as determined by the members of the FIFA Technical Study Group) will prove decisive.

That scenario played out at the 2010 World Cup, when Thomas Muller, David Villa, Wesley Sneijder and Diego Forlan scored five goals, but because Muller recorded more assists (3) than the trio, he came out on top.

If two or more players are still equal after taking into account the number of assists, the total minutes played in the tournament will be taken into account, with the player playing fewer minutes ranked first.

How is the Golden Boot decided?

• The award will be handed to the player who scores the most goals in the final competition.
• If two or more players score the same number of goals, the number of assists (as determined by the members of the FIFA Technical Study Group) shall be decisive.
• If two or more players are still equal after taking into account the number of assists, the total minutes played in the tournament will be taken into account, with the player playing fewer minutes ranked first.