The Golden Ball is handed out to the best player at the World Cup and awarded by the FIFA technical committee.
The winner will likely be on the field of play when France take on Argentina in the final on Sunday. Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe have led their sides to the finale at Lusail Iconic Stadium and whoever comes out on top may claim the award.
While those two Paris Saint-Germain stars are the favourites, there are a few others in with a shout of being named the best player at the 2022 World Cup.
Lionel Messi is a former World Cup Golden Ball winner, being named the best player of the 2014 tournament. That was a slightly controversial decision, given Messi wasn’t at his sparkling best as Argentina were beaten finalists, but this year he would be a deserving winner.
The PSG forward is also a Golden Boot contender and may end up with awards if Argentina do beat France. With five goals and three assists, he’d be a worthy winner.
On the other side of the equation is Kylian Mbappe. France weren’t fancied at the start of the tournament due to their lengthy injury list, but with Mbappe they’ve retained the lethal threat that made them champions in 2018.
Like Messi, Mbappe has scored five times in Qatar and has wowed crowds with his impressive pace and some thunderbolt strikes. If France beat Argentina, the PSG forward will almost certainly have impacted the result.
The 2022 World Cup has served as a reminder to the wider footballing world that Antoine Griezmann remains an incredibly gifted player.
Now playing deeper than his 2018 number ten role, the Atletico Madrid star has retained his creative streak but added bite to his defensive play, constantly regaining possession while setting up three goals.
Part of what has made Messi so good at this World Cup has been the relentless energy of teammate Julian Alvarez in attack.
The Manchester City youngster took his chance when handed a start against Poland and proved the difference in Argentina’s semi final victory over Croatia where he scored twice.
After a dry 2018 World Cup, Giroud has exploded into life at Qatar with vital goals for France.
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