World Cup 2018: Top 3 Strikers

After a month of football extravaganza, France became the new World Champions after defeating Croatia in the final with a scoreline of 4-2.

Harry Kane won the Golden Boot as he scored the maximum goals (6) in this tournament. James Rodriguez also netted the same amount of goals to clinch the Golden Boot in World Cup 2014.

World Cup 2018 was not a spectacular tournament for the strikers as one would have hoped. The wingers and midfielders had more devastating effects and it was them who scored the screamers. Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani paired together to form a fantastic partnership upfront, but an injury to Cavani halted their hopes to qualify further from the quarterfinals.

Argentina had two of the best strikers around the World in their team but Jorge Sampaoli failed to use them effectively. France won the World Cup but their striker, Oliver Giroud, failed to register even a single shot on target. Yet the striker's are the ones who go for a hefty fee.

Now, we look at the top strikers of the tournament who had the responsibility to spear-head their nation.

#3 CRISTIANO RONALDO (Portugal)

Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal was eliminated in the round of 16, but he still remains our number 3 pick on this list. He had more shots on target than Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku who progressed till the semi-final.

Ronaldo single-handedly stole a point from Spain when he scored a hat-trick against them. If Portugal had stayed in this tournament for long, Ronaldo would have been at the top of this chart. His four goals displayed a complete package; one headed goal, one from a left foot and two from his favored right foot.

His life is going to change as he steps in Turin for a medical in his new club, Juventus.

#2 HARRY KANE (England)

Harry Kane rewrote the history of English football by winning the Golden Boot in the tournament. With six-goal, he was at the apex of the goal scorer's chart, equalling Colombia's James Rodriguez tally of World Cup 2014. His side was beaten in the semi-final by Croatia and then by the "golden generation", Belgium, in the contest for the bronze medal.

He set the tournament on fire but his minute per ratio dropped to 95.5 even after scoring five goals in the first two matches. He scored a brace in the first match followed by a hat-trick in the second.

Though winning the Golden Boot does not hide the fact that his dry patch in the knockout stages was a big reason for the exit of England from the World Cup. After group stages, Harry Kane hardly had any influence on the field. He missed a few chances to score and was unable to create anything valuable for his side.

#1 ROMELU LUKAKU (Belgium)

Just like Harry Kane, Belgium's striker failed to score after the group stages. The 25-year old had a superb tournament as he scored four goals and registered an assist. His best performance came in the quarterfinals against Brazil when he was forced to play at the right-wing due to a tactical switch. He made darting runs into the penalty box and Brazil's center-backs were hardly able to contain him.

His assist to Kevin De Bruyne is one of the highlights for Belgium when he took the ball from his half and dribbled the ball away from several Brazilians to thread a pass for the Manchester City Playmaker.

Unlike Harry Kane, none of his goals came through a penalty. He formed a fantastic partnership with his club rivals, Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard. Though his performances against England and France was subject to some criticism, he still remains the best out-and-out striker of this World Cup.