3 Players Who Can Beat Cristiano Ronaldo to the Golden Boot
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
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.
Costa can be a gamble. He is temperamental, to say the least. He also has a knack of rubbing opposition players the wrong way - and sometimes even his own teammates. But he is a gamble worth taking because he guarantees you goals. He has done that all throughout his career at Athletico Madrid then Chelsea and now back at Atletico. Inside the box, there are few better strikers than him.
With matches against Iran and Morocco to come in the group stage and a likely last eight or last four finish, Costa has enough games to increase his goal count. Bet against him at your own risk.