Sportradar: Mbappé is the most popular player above Haaland and Messi

Mbappé dominates the goalkeeper betting market

Although Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi were among the scorers of the day, it was Mbappé who established himself as the most popular footballer among football bettors globally, according to data and insights from Sportradar.

The company processes betting tickets for more than 250 operators worldwide, offering an insider's view of the level of engagement and fan preferences across activity in sports betting markets.

When analyzing the hundreds of thousands of bets registered in the "player to score at any time" market during the matches between France and Senegal, Iraq and Norway, and Argentina and Algeria, Mbappé concentrated 29 percent of the total tickets processed by Sportradar.

Haaland and Messi complete the podium

During the day, bettors showed greater confidence in the French striker's goalscoring ability than in that of his main competitors.

Erling Haaland accounted for 16 per cent of the tickets processed in the goalscorers' market, while Lionel Messi racked up 10 per cent of the registered bets.

Sportradar highlights Mbappé's global reach

Daren Lury, Head of Risk Management at Sportradar, commented: "We are seeing very high levels of engagement with Mbappe in all our player-related markets, a clear sign of his quality and popularity with fans around the world. Based on the betting activity we're seeing, he's well-positioned to compete for the Golden Boot, which he won four years ago."

The race for the Golden Boot is still open

At the time of compilation, the results of the first matches of the tournament had had a limited impact on the betting market on the winner of the Golden Boot.

In this segment, Erling Haaland leads the preferences with 21 percent of tickets processed by Sportradar. He is followed by Kylian Mbappé, with 15 percent, while Lionel Messi registers 4 percent of the bets.

Betting as a thermometer of fan interest

The information gathered by Sportradar shows how betting markets can become an indicator of fans' enthusiasm and perception of the great figures of world football. While Haaland remains the leading candidate among those betting on the tournament's top scorer, Mbappe is currently the player who generates the highest level of engagement in markets linked to individual performance.