With the World Cup now down to its final 16 teams, the race for the Golden Boot is beginning to take shape. Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé have emerged as the clear frontrunners, with the betting market now firmly favouring the superstar duo over the chasing pack.Messi’s latest goal against Cape Verde keeps him top of the standings with seven goals, one ahead of Mbappé, while Erling Haaland and Harry Kane trail on five.The betting reflects the gap in quality and expectation that has started to open up. Messi is the best-priced +110 favourite with Bet365 and Fanatics to finish as the tournament’s top scorer, while Mbappé is close behind at +140 with Fanatics.While just one goal separates the leading pair, both players boast proven World Cup pedigree and, crucially, appear to have favorable routes through the knockout stages.Argentina face Egypt in the Round of 16, while France take on Paraguay on Saturday, with both expected to create plenty of opportunities for their talismanic forwards to add to their tallies.Messi strengthened his position with another decisive contribution in Argentina’s tense 3-2 victory over Cape Verde. The Argentine captain opened the scoring with a brilliantly executed finish, taking his tournament total to seven and reinforcing his status as the man to catch.Mbappé, however, remains within touching distance and arguably looks the sharpest player at the tournament heading into the last 16.The France forward scored twice in his side’s convincing 3-0 win over Sweden, delivering another clinical display that underlined why he might be the only player that can realistically deny Messi the Golden Boot.Beyond the leading pair, the challenge looks increasingly difficult. Kane remains in contention on five goals but is priced at +1600, illustrating the gulf bookmakers see between England’s captain and the two market leaders.Further back, Ousmane Dembélé, Mikel Oyarzabal and Vinícius Júnior all have four goals to their names but will likely need a prolific finish to the tournament to challenge for the Golden Boot.