World Cup Top Goal Scorers: The men with the Golden Boot
After a two weeks of World Cup matches the Golden Boot market remains wide open and there have been some dramatic moves. None of the five pre-tournament favourites have lived up to high expectations and there is a new man at the top of the Golden boot betting.
Four may not be considered an auspicious number for the Chinese, but it certainly proved to be Miroslav Klose’s lucky number. The German striker emerged as the front-runner for the Golden Boot award when he scored twice against Ecuador in the hosts’ 3-0 win, taking his tally to four af
ter three matches and nine overall at the World Cup.
With his double strike, Klose is now ranked fourth on the list of Germany’s all-time Finals scorers, behind Gerd Muller (14), Juergen Klinsmann (11) and Helmut Rahn (10). Four years ago, the 28-year-old was also Germany’s top-scorer with five goals, as he finished behind Brazil’s Ronaldo, who bagged eight.
Meanwhile, high-flying Spaniard Fernando Torres is set to blow his way through Saudi Arabia’s leaky defence boosting a World Cup goals tally that could in turn spark English Premiership interest in his talents. On Friday, Torres is again likely to start and finish a match which the already eliminated ‘Sons of the Desert’ will be hoping does not turn into a goals-fest in Spain’s favour.
If you’re looking for the top goalscorer in this World Cup, keep a beady eye on just three men – Klose, Torres and yes, Ronaldo of Brazil. Brazil wrapped up their World Cup Group F campaign with a 4-1 win over Japan as an energized Ronaldo emerged from his shell to score a brace that made him joint all-time World Cup top scorer on 14 goals with Germany’s Gerd Muller.
Ronaldo will surely have his chances as Brazil are likely to progress through the semifinals. Whether Klose and Torres become candidates for the Golden Boot will depend on their health holding up and also on how far their respective countries progress.
Still looking for some Golden Boot longshots? Forget about Wayne Rooney and Ronaldinho. Just consider Hernan Crespo of Argentina or maybe Steven Gerrard. Rooney has been playing with a banged foot while Ronaldinho has been a shadow of himself, playing below par and not looking for his own shots.
Golden Boot Prediction: Hard to bet against Ronaldo but I’ll take my chances on Miroslav Klose.
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[...] Golden Boot favourite Miroslav Klose, scorer of twenty-eight goals in fifty-nine matches for his country, is looking extremely dangerous in this tournament – he’s already scored four times and there is undoubtedly more to come. [...]
[...] World Cup Golden Boot leader Klose, who has four goals to his name, insists there is no reason for his country to be nervous about Friday’s match in Berlin. "I know the Argentina defenders but I am in great shape at the moment and do not need to be too concerned with them," Klose declared. [...]