Former Tottenham and England midfielder tips Real Madrid star to win World Cup Golden Boot

This ex-Premier League legend made almost 300 top-flight appearances during a glittering playing career at Newcastle, Tottenham, Aston Villa and QPR, while also regularly appearing for England despite fierce competition from the likes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.

Former Premier League midfielder and England international Jermaine Jenas has backed Kylian Mbappé to claim the World Cup Golden Boot, predicting a deep run for France despite holding serious reservations over their aging midfield.

Jenas, who earned 21 senior caps for the Three Lions, admitted he remains unconvinced by Didier Deschamps’ central options, arguing that the heavy reliance on veterans N’Golo Kanté and Adrien Rabiot lacks ideal balance. 

However, he believes France’s formidable frontline – unlocked by Mbappé’s penalty duties – will mask those deficiencies to push tournament favorites Spain all the way.

Jenas tips Mbappé to top score at tournament despite not rating French midfield options

When asked during a recent interview with 10bet who he thinks will win the coveted Golden Boot, Jenas said: “I’ve gone with Kylian Mbappé because I think if anyone’s going to push Spain all the way, it’ll be France.

“I’m not overly in love with France’s midfield, if I’m totally honest with you. I think it’s a bit of an aging midfield. They’ve got some youth in there, obviously – I think Manu Koné is in there – but the regulars like N’Golo Kanté and Adrien Rabiot are still there.

“But that forward line… if they get that forward line right and it clicks, they’re going to cause a lot of problems, which means they’ll go deep into the competition. And if they do, with Kylian on penalties as well, I fancy him for top goalscorer.”

Jenas critical of World Cup refereeing standard

Discussing what has surprised him so far, Jenas pointed a finger at some of the referee decisions that have been made at the tournament, and we think he has a point. Despite this World Cup having the most advanced technology in terms of VAR and refereeing, the fact remains that have been plenty of dodgy calls.

“Some of the refereeing decisions have been a bit dodgy. You know, I watched the opening game and I thought one of the sendings off was just weird – it felt very harsh. On the pitch, Morocco are a team that I’m looking at and thinking they could go far. I really liked watching them against Brazil the other day. I know they fell off a little bit in the second half, but I thought they had really high energy and some quality players in there.

“It’s getting very glitzy and glamorous around the World Cup now, with everything surrounding it, and I’m just hoping we’re not losing the core focus on the sport and on the games themselves. But the only thing that’s massively stood out to me so far on the pitch is just some weird refereeing decisions. But to be honest with you, that happens in the Premier League week in, week out at the minute anyway,” Jenas said.