FIFA World Cup 2018: Race for the Golden Boot is firing up

The world's biggest football event FIFA World Cup 2018 is now at its halfway stage and it's been one of the most unpredictable World Cups of all time with almost every team fighting hard for qualifying into the next round. In group stages, we have seen many big upsets like Croatia thrashing Lionel Messi's Argentina while the defending champions Germany also got beaten by Mexico in their opening match. Recently Argentina vs Croatia match witnessed the 100th goal of this year's tournament when Messi opened his 2018 world cup goal account in the 14th minute of the game.

Many star players like Neymar Jr, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Antoine Griezmann and Thomas Muller had a very dry season till now in terms of goal scoring. These players are almost out from the Golden Boot race while there are some strikers who are dominating the game on the field with their strike rate.

Here is the list of players involved in the Golden Boot race:

5. Diego Costa (Spain)

The Spanish attacker has activated his beast mode in this World Cup and has scored three goals in three matches till now. The Atletico Madrid star started his campaign with a brace against Portugal where his team drew with Cristiano Ronaldo's side by 3-3. The Spanish team is aiming to repeat their 2010 World Cup campaign and for that, they need Costa to continue his good run. Spain doesn't have as many attackers and the team mostly rely on their midfield which consists of legends like Andres Iniesta and young talents like Isco so the attacking responsibility is automatically shouldered by Costa.

4. Denis Cheryshev (Russia)

The 27- year old midfielder is enjoying a dream run in his home country at the biggest stage in football. The Russian midfielder has scored three goals till now that led his team to advance into the round of 16 by beating Mohamed Salah's Egypt. Cheryshev was called as a substitute in the opening game of the tournament but he changed the world's perception about him by scoring a beautiful brace against Saudi Arabia that helped his team to start their opening campaign with a 5-0 win.

3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)

The Portuguese side is riding high on success with the help of their skipper Ronaldo who is playing his career's best World Cup with four goals in three games in group stages. Ronaldo started the 2018 World Cup on a high note with a scintillating hat-trick against title contenders Spain. Ronaldo is leading from the front in this tournament while taking his team into the round of 16. The Real Madrid star is the strongest contender for the Golden Boot this year and considering his form he might hold his first World Cup golden boot after the end of the tournament.

2. Romelu Lukaku (Belgium)

The Manchester United striker has been in his best form till date with four goals in just two games in the FIFA World Cup 2018. Lukaku's excellent run is developing Belgium into a serious title contender. After a trophy-less season with his club, Lukaku is all geared for the biggest stage of them all. He has scored a brace in both of his games. The likes of Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard are helping the Belgium striker to hit the ball in the net. The way Lukaku is striking the ball it seems like he might become the Golden boot winner.

1. Harry Kane (England)

The top goal scorer in this World Cup till now is England's Harry Kane with five goals in just two games. The Spurs striker is leading from the front and is ready to break the World Cup jinx for England. Kane was unstoppable in the first two matches of the tournament. Before the start of the World Cup, nobody was considering England a serious threat because of their inexperienced side but Kane has changed it with tremendous goal scoring. Kane lost this year's Premier League golden boot to Mohamed Salah but he looks set to amends in the World Cup. 

-Written By Aditya Maheshwari