Cristiano Ronaldo put the rest of the world on red alert with his hat trick in Portugal’s Group B opening match against Spain. With the first round of group fixtures completed (plus one more match in Group A), Ronaldo leads the race for the Golden Boot with 3 goals. Tied with him is Denis Cheryshev but Russia have already played two games. Behind the two, there are three players on 2 goals each – Harry Kane, Diego Costa and Romelu Lukaku. The race to be the top scorer at the World Cup is hotting up.
Ronaldo remaining two group games are against relatively easier opposition in Morocco and Iran. And Portugal should be able to easily navigate their way to the quarter finals at least. So a minimum of four more matches for Ronaldo to increase his tally. In the last ten World Cups, the Golden Boot winner has only once scored more than 6 goals – Cristiano’s namesake Ronaldo Nazario in 2002 with eight goals. On current form CR7 should reach the tally of six at least which puts him in pole position to win the Golden Boot.
But this race has just begun and there is a long way to go. Here is a list of three player’s who can challenge Ronaldo for the Golden Boot.
3 Diego Costa
Many experts predicted Belgium to be the dark horses for this World Cup. I believe that if they play to their potential they can be more than dark horses. With the likes of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku in their ranks – they are serious title contenders. Their performance in the opening game against Panama only strengthens my belief.
Lukaku is their main target man and he proved his worth with two goals in that first game. For Belgium to succeed the team needs to play off him. Hazard and KDB will have to continue to feed him inside the box. And both the Belgian wizards are more than capable of doing this with their creative prowess, dribbling ability and passing finesse.
Spaniards love their bull fighting or ‘corrida de torros’ as much as they love their football. And Diego Costa is a true bull leading the line for the Spanish Armada. Unfortunately for most defenders (read picadors) he is too hot to handle when on form. And in his first game against Portugal he was a rampaging bull who took apart the Portuguese defense.
2 Neymar
In 2014 Neymar carried the hopes of the host nation Brazil on his shoulders. He scored five goals in as many games before succumbing to injury in the quarters against Colombia. Without Neymar, Brazil suffered their worst ever defeat to Germany in the semis – losing 7-1. On home soil that was as embarrassing as it could get. The Selecao came into Russia 2018 with a desire to banish the ghost of 2014. And once again all hopes rest firmly on Neymar.
Brazil started their World Cup campaign with a disappointing 1-1 draw against Switzerland. Neymar was almost always man marked and had a marginal impact on the game. He is yet to get off the work in this campaign. But things can change rapidly. Brazil’s next two games are against Costa Rica and Serbia. That should give Neymar a chance to move within striking distance of Ronaldo.
1 Romelu Lukaku
Many experts predicted Belgium to be the dark horses for this World Cup. I believe that if they play to their potential they can be more than dark horses. With the likes of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku in their ranks – they are serious title contenders. Their performance in the opening game against Panama only strengthens my belief.
Lukaku is their main target man and he proved his worth with two goals in that first game. For Belgium to succeed the team needs to play off him. Hazard and KDB will have to continue to feed him inside the box. And both the Belgian wizards are more than capable of doing this with their creative prowess, dribbling ability and passing finesse.