What is a World Cup without its real star power, the players. Right from Pele to Maradona to Messi, every player has left an indelible impact with his trademark style of play. When European power play meets South American touch and finesse, sparks are bound to fly and we have witnessed so many scintillating and mouth-watering clashes. There have been goals aplenty, some of them etched in our memory permanently, like the one Maradona scored against England in the 1986 World Cup, when he dribbled past six England players to score what later came to be known as the “Goal of the Century”. Who can forget the rather infamous “Hand of God” goal that Maradona scored in the same match.
In this edition, let us have a look at the top goal scorers and the players who made their presence felt in the World Cup
Brazilian great Ronaldo stands at the top of the ladder with 15 goals. Next on the list is German Gerd Muller with 14 goals. Following him closely is the French great Just Fontaine with 13 goals. “Black Pearl” or Pele, as we know him is tied at the fourth spot with Miroslav Klose from Germany at 12 goals. Close on their heels are Jurgen Klinsmann and Sandor Kocsis from Hungary, both with 11 goals. The list goes on and features many great players who entertained spectators with their nifty footwork and amazing finishing capability.
Do you know that Bert Patenaude of USA scored the first ever hat-tricแทงบอลออนไลน์k of the World Cup in 1930 against Paraguay? The latest hat-trick scored was by Gonzalo Higuain of Argentina against South Korea in the ongoing World Cup. The youngest player to score a hat-trick was Pele at 17 years and 244 days. The oldest player to score a hat-trick is Tore Keller at 33 years and 159 days. Gabriel Batistuta of Argentina is the only person to score hat-tricks in two World Cups (1994 and 1998). The only player to have scored five goals in a World Cup match is Oleg Salenko of Russia, a feat that he achieved against Cameroon in the 1994 World Cup.
Do you know that the Yashin Award for the best goalkeeper is named after Lev Yashin (USSR), considered by many as the greatest goalkeeper ever? The Best Young Player (for players of age 21 or below) award was constituted at the 2006 World Cup and given to Germany’s Lukas Podolski.