5 predictions for the 2018 World Cup

#2 Neither Ronaldo nor Messi walk away with the Golden Boot

Neymar could well win the Golden Boot

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s duopoly over world football has been well established. The two have won the last ten Ballon d'Or awards amongst themselves and have been crowned the top scorer of Europe in 9 of the last 10 seasons. They are arguably the two greatest players in the history of the sport and have won almost every conceivable honour at the club level.

It can be safely said though that both have struggled at the World Cup. Messi has made 15 career appearances and scored 5 goals along with 3 assists, 4 of which came in Brazil in 2014 where he won the golden boot and fell short in the final losing to Germany, while Ronaldo has scored 3 goals with 2 assists in 13 career World Cup appearances. By their lofty standards, these are poor numbers, and Russia could well be an extension of that.

It is no secret that neither have really had the support in their respective national squads like they enjoy at their clubs and it has often hampered their performances. Argentina might have a wealth of attacking options, but the erratic form is a major concern for them and leading Argentina to an international title all on his own has proved to be too big a task for Messi to do on his own so far.

He is expected to shoulder all the playmaking and scoring burden which makes him a target for opposition defenders. Portugal might have won Euro 2016, but a look at their results will tell you they were highly fortunate, as they failed to win a single group stage game and only progressed to the knock out stage because of a new and expanded format which allowed for some third-place teams to qualify.

Ronaldo’s heroics can only take them so far, and with a squad that is not distinctly better than the Euro-winning squad, they could struggle when they come up against quality opposition.

Their competition too is in a very good place to secure the Golden Boot. Neymar will start as one of the front-runners, and with an able supporting cast and creative force behind him, will be one to watch out for. Thomas Muller’s World Cup record too speaks for itself and he is always a massive threat in that German side.

Antoine Griezmann will spearhead a French side that many expect to make a splash in this tournament and he will be a big factor in this race too. Not one of them has to deal with the massive weight of expectations that Ronaldo and Messi have to bear, and ultimately a combination of these factors could well mean that the two miss out on the Golden Boot this year.