Top goalscorers in the last 5 World Cups
Playing for the national team is always the most significant part of every sportsperson's career. And to move a step further and represent your country at the highest stage - the World Cup is the most popular sport on the planet has a special place in every footballer's heart.
It takes months and years of hard work and extreme consistency to get eventually onboard the plane heading to the World Cup. Of course, every player plays his heart out for his country at the grandest stage, yet there are some who turn out to be exceptional. Their goal-scoring prowess either places their country on the brink of World Cup glory or ends up helping the nation lift the gleaming golden trophy.
While every World Cup has had stars who turned up the style quotient and found the back of the net frequently, let's have a look at the last five World Cup finals to see who bagged the Golden Boot award and who was inches closer to becoming the top goalscorer of the tournament.
1998 FIFA World Cup, France
The 1998 FIFA World Cup hosted by France saw the host country winning the international football's grandest prize. While Les Bleus trumped the Samba Boys and defending champions Brazil 3-0 in the final, it was the tiny country of Croatia which surprised one and all, as they finished third in the tournament.
Top Goalscorers:
6 goals - Davor Šuker (Croatia)
Šuker first helped Croatia qualify for the World Cup 1998 finals by scoring five goals in nine matches during the qualifying stages. He continued his prolific performance in the World Cup finals as he ended up scoring at least one goal in every 1998 World Cup match that Croatia scored in.
His goalscoring started with the 69' goal in the 1-3 victory against Jamaica. He continued his brilliant form as he scored six goals in seven matches (including the victory against Jamaica) to get Croatia on the brink of World Cup Final. He opened the scoring against host nation France in the semi-finals. However, his efforts went in vain as Lillian Thuram scored twice to ensure France head to the finals. In spite of this, Šuker scored the winner in the third-place playoffs to ensure Croatia finish third in their first World Cup appearance since becoming an independent nation.
5 goals - Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina), Christian Vieri (Italy)
4 goals - Ronaldo (Brazil), Marcelo Salas (Chile), Luis Hernández (Mexico)