World Cup 2018: 4 players who will fight for the Golden Boot

#1: Neymar Jr. (Brazil)

The World Cup hype build around the Brazilian forward

The Samba Boy, however, catapulted himself among the highest order of football players by scoring four goals in the Cup. In the years to follow, his stature as an individual only improved. Back in 2014, Neymar was still cementing himself among the game's great. He scored four goals for Brazil on domestic soil and was all but set to make a lasting impact on the World Cup as the Canaries cruised past opponents after opponents.

But fate had something else for the Samba boy. Neymar was critically injured in the quarterfinal against Columbia and missed out the semifinal and the third-place match. Brazil eventually faced an embarrassing exit from the World Cup and Neymar was left in tears, and so was the whole nation.

At the peak of his career, at an age of 26, Russia may be Neymar's best chance of winning the World Cup for five-time winners Brazil. Due to an ankle injury in March, Neymar has had more than three full months to prepare for the biggest competition of his life.

"I will have enough time to arrive at the World Cup in good shape and prepare." - Neymar Jr.

Neymar scored four goals in the 2014 World Cup

Boosting his chances of winning the Golden Boot is Brazil's easy group. The Seleção is set to face Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia in the group stages and are more or less expected to extend their stay in Russia from two to four weeks.

Brazil are the clear favorites to win the World Cup this time. Under Tite, they have a well-balanced squad and finished on top of the South American qualifiers, losing just a single game. They scored a whopping 41 goals in the qualifiers, with Neymar scoring six.