All posts by h716a5.icu

Goal looks at every player to top the goalscoring charts at FIFA's tournament over the years

Scoring at the World Cup is the ultimate dream for every aspiring footballer growing up.

Sure, the Champions League is great and so are the Premier League and LaLiga, to name just a few elite competitions.

And yes, tournaments like the Copa America, European Championship, Asian Cup and African Cup of Nations are massive at a regional level.

But the World Cup, that's something else!

Which players have been able to fulfil their childhood dreams, though, and haven't just managed to find the net at international football's elite competition, but were even crowned top scorer?

Let's take a look at some of the most clinical strikers in the history of the beautiful game!

GettyWorld Cup 2022 | Kylian Mbappé | 8 goals

Kylian Mbappé was the man for France, dragging them to the World Cup finals for a second straight time with 8 goals in 7 games. He left the best for last as he scored a clutch hattrick against Argentina to take the game to penalties, but alas he could not repeat his success from 2018, and the French went back home as runners-up.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesWorld Cup 2018 | Harry Kane | England | 6 goals

The Tottenham legend was in fine form in Russia as he helped England to the semi-finals with six goals.

Kane was simply unstoppable in the group stages as he netted twice against Tunisia, before getting a hat-trick versus Panama.

He then scored another in the round-of-16 win over Colombia to cap off a fine tournament overall.

Getty ImagesWorld Cup 2014 | James Rodriguez | Colombia | 6 goals

Colombian midfielder James Rodriguez claimed the Golden Boot after scoring six goals throughout the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, despite his side getting knocked out in the quarter-finals by the host nation.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

World Cup 2010 | Thomas Muller | Germany | 5 goals

Thomas Muller scored five goals for the German national team during the 2010 World Cup, assisting in his side finishing third in the tournament. During the 2014 World Cup, Muller also won the Silver Boot after netting five goals which contributed to Germany lifting the World Cup.

ICC chief executive David Richardson has said that profitability of fixtures for broadcasters has been a stumbling block for getting top Associates Ireland and Afghanistan fixtures since their inclusion in the ICC ODI rankings table

Peter Della Penna in Dublin22-Jul-2015ICC chief executive David Richardson has said that profitability of fixtures for broadcasters has been a stumbling block for getting top Associates Ireland and Afghanistan fixtures since their inclusion in the ICC ODI rankings table earlier this year. However, he said that the possible creation of an ODI facilitation fund could help alleviate these obstacles.”It’s a fact that even matches between the lower-ranked Full Members, like Zimbabwe versus Sri Lanka for example, don’t make revenues so that the series are making a profit or if it does it’s making a very small profit,” Richardson said at the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Malahide. “You can imagine series between Afghanistan and the West Indies also cost a lot and the revenues might not necessarily be enough to cover those costs.”One of the talking points or suggestions that is being considered, and in October we’re having a joint meeting between our chief executives committee and the board on which there will be six representatives from the Associate members taking part in that discussion, will be trying to make sure that Full Members take some responsibility in scheduling fixtures against Associate members and if finances are a problem that we think of introducing an ODI fund similar to the Test fund that was introduced to help subsidise the costs of those series.”Richardson also said it is possible for Full Member countries to be forced to participate in future World Twenty20 Qualifiers. If Bangladesh or Zimbabwe finish outside the top eight spots on the ODI rankings table by September 2017, they will have to compete in the 50-over World Cup Qualifier with Associates for the final two spots in the 10-team event for 2019. That could be the case in the future for the ICC’s flagship T20 tournament as well.”When we put the package together for this next eight-year cycle, it was envisaged that we raise the profile of these qualifying tournaments, number one by making it crucial for qualification but also involving the Full Members, not excluding them from having to participate in these qualifying tournaments going forward. The objective to that is not only to make them self-sufficient and generate some more revenues for everybody for the development of the game but also just to raise the profile of these countries.”Before, for Holland, if they got to the World Cup they got a bit of profile.  If they just missed out, they lost out on that.  If we can raise the profile of these tournaments, and you’ve seen evenly matched teams provides for good entertainment, it will raise that profile. It is good for cricket in those countries as well, even if they don’t end up going to the tournament itself.”As for the ODI rankings table, if Zimbabwe were to dip below Afghanistan or Ireland, they may still be protected due to their Full Member status while the lower-ranked Associate would have a play-off with the top team in the WCL Championship for promotion into the ODI rankings table. Richardson conceded that this wasn’t meritocratic but that Zimbabwe had earned their status through historical performances, which needed to be taken into consideration.”At this stage the board, all they’ve agreed to do is say that it’s the lowest ranked Associate member who would play-off,” Richardson said. “At this stage we have got this distinction between Full Members and Associate members. I think long term, that distinction will eventually vanish but its really long term and not in the foreseeable future. A proper promotion and relegation would mean that the bottom ranked team would have to play off but that’s not the situation we’ve got. I think it’s a process and we’re working towards something.”Explaining the decision to move the World Twenty20 from a two- to a four-year cycle, Richardson argued it was done so as not to “kill the golden goose”. The increasing popularity of other domestic T20 tournaments such as the IPL, Big Bash and Caribbean Premier League were also factors.”I think the World T20 is valuable and if you play it too often it will become less valuable,” Richardson said. “We also have to recognise that around the world we have these domestic Twenty20 leagues which are high profile, are very attractive to broadcasters and it’s a case of there’s premium content out there and probably less is more.”A reduced tournament cycle means Associate nations will have fewer competitive and funding opportunities in a quadrennial World T20 cycle than the biennial tournament structure that was previously in place. However, Richardson claimed Associates will be better funded in other ways to make up for the loss in playing opportunities.”When it comes to funding for Associate members, it needs to be looked at not only in respect of participation fees,” Richardson said. “The bottom line is that a country like Ireland, with the projected revenues that the ICC is hoping to achieve over the next eight-year cycle, a doubling of the participation fee will be dwarfed by the increased funding Ireland will receive as one of the top Associate members.”Richardson commended the two host countries Ireland and Scotland for the job they have been doing in hosting the World Twenty20 Qualifier over the past two weeks. When asked what it would take to assign the World Twenty20 itself to an emerging market, similar to what World Rugby has done in awarding the 2019 Rugby World Cup to Japan, Richardson said that profitability would be the most important factor both from a gate revenue and television rights standpoint.”I don’t think it’s impossible to imagine. What we have to consider when awarding events is number one, will it at least optimise the revenues. So is it in the correct time zone, will sponsors want to get involved knowing that there’s an event in these particular places in the next four or five years? So that’s a factor that needs to be taken into consideration. At the moment we are too reliant on revenues generated out of India. It’s a problem for the game. Everybody says it.”If we can open up new markets, be it the USA, Europe or whatever, then there’s no reason we can’t take major global events to those regions. The other aspect of course is facilities. Cricket is difficult. We’ve got to have great facilities. We’ve tried Malaysia before for Under-19 events and yes everyone did their best and it wasn’t too bad but it wasn’t really good enough. So when we’re deciding whether to go to Kenya or Ireland, Ireland could probably manage it. But a major global event needs 40,000 to 50,000 seat stadiums. Those factors have to be taken into account.”

The Pakistan Cricket Board has once again revived the plan of a franchise-based Twenty20 league, announcing the first season to take place in the UAE next year

Umar Farooq13-Jun-2015The Pakistan Cricket Board has once again revived the plan of its franchise-based Twenty20 league, announcing the first season to take place in the UAE next year. The proposed league – named Pakistan Super League – had been repeatedly postponed and shelved in the last two years for various reasons. In 2013 it was because of logistical problems, and in 2014 it was mainly due to the “paucity of lead time” in the face of issues with the bidding process.The PCB was planning to hold the league between December 2014 and January 2015, with the UAE as a potential venue for the five-team competition. The board invited parties to acquire the PSL rights, but the quality of the bids meant the PCB decided to put it on hold. There were six companies that showed interest in bidding, but only two – Haier and Aman Foundation – showed the capability to provide a bank guarantee of US $3 million before taking part in the bid process. The board was due to open the bids but decided to delay the process by 10 days, before postponing it indefinitely.However, after another delay, the PCB decided to go ahead with the plan without outsourcing it to a third party. “PCB has announced that it will launch its own franchise-based T20 league with the first season scheduled to take place in the UAE next year,” chairman Shaharyar Khan informed the board of governors in their meeting in Lahore.The PCB had engaged with an independent consultancy company in April this year regarding the feasibilities and prospects of the league, and decided to go ahead with the plan. “Based on the company’s preliminary findings, the board of governors discussed three major questions related to the league,” the PCB said in a statement. “It was decided in principle that [the] PCB will organise the league on its own and will not outsource it to any other organisation.”It was also unanimously decided that the first edition of the league will take place in UAE with an aim of attracting maximum number of foreign players. The board of governors discussed the TOR (Terms of Reference) and decided that the league’s lead manager should be a leading professional of international repute.”During Zaka Ashraf’s regime, the PSL business model – unveiled in January 2013 – was expected to fetch the PCB “in excess of $100 million”. The PCB had also announced the base prices of players for a proposed auction, though it did not reveal the pool of players who had signed up for the tournament. Launching the league has not been a smooth business model for the board so far as no international cricket was played in Pakistan since 2009, until Zimbabwe’s tour last month.

David Willey transformed an otherwise well-matched contest to leave Northamptonshire in sight of their first first-class victory since 2013

Andrew Miller at Wantage Road14-Apr-2015
ScorecardDavid Willey struck his maiden first-class hundred•Getty ImagesFirst with the ball, and now with the bat. For the second day in a row at Wantage Road, a staggering burst of acceleration from David Willey transformed an otherwise well-matched contest to leave Northamptonshire in sight of their first first-class victory since their in 2013.Willey’s three wickets in four balls to dock Gloucestershire’s tail on Monday afternoon were matched for dramatic effect by a brutal 79-ball century. At the age of 25, it was the first first-class hundred of a career that has been plagued by injury for the past 18 months, and it laid waste to a diligent day’s work from a Gloucestershire attack that, while never quite dominating, had held their opponents in check for the first session and a half.As well as seven fours, Willey cracked six sixes in his onslaught, four of which came in the space of eight balls after tea, as he turned up the heat against a demoralised Gloucestershire, whose fielders wilted in the bright spring sunshine.A rash of fielding errors were compounded in the late-innings frenzy when Rory Kleinveldt, who made 48 from 52 balls, was dropped twice in as many overs by Will Tavare in the deep. Willey needed no such lives, however, and had hurtled to 104 not out from 83 balls when the declaration came from Alex Wakely.It might be an affront to suggest to Willey that the gulf between first- and second-division cricket is widening by the year, but then again, as the son of one of the county’s most hard-bitten campaigners, he’s nobody’s fool either. The team that failed to win a match all last season and lost by an innings on eight occasions, has played with a combination of flair and resolve that they were unable to produce in the top flight last summer. Today’s outing is surely a harbinger of better times ahead.With that in mind, the day’s unsung heroes were the sixth-wicket pair of Josh Cobb and Rob Keogh, who added 101 to shore up an innings that was in distinct jeopardy in the day’s early exchanges. After resuming on 68 for 2 overnight, Northants lost Rob Newton to a loose cut to point for 19 before Wakely attempted to work Liam Norwell off his pads and lobbed a simple return catch to the bowler.Adam Rossington then flashed at Norwood before he was set and top-edged a miscued pull to point for 4. At 110 for 5, a major renovation was required by the home team. Cobb, his allegiances newly transferred from Leicestershire, dug in while Keogh made the early running, but having waited 64 balls for his first boundary, he celebrated in style with four more in a row off the toiling James Fuller, whose 19 overs were dispatched for 114 runs.Cobb was the first to reach his fifty, from exactly 100 balls, before attempting to up the ante against Kieran Noema-Barnett and holing out to mid-on for 58. And Keogh was denied what would have been a hugely deserved hundred when, on 81, he was trapped lbw by the left-arm spin of Dent.By that stage, however, Willey was firmly in the zone and all Gloucestershire’s players could do was sit tight and wait for the inevitable. The declaration duly came with a tricky 15-over spell to negotiate, which Dent and Tavare managed with few alarms. By the close they had reached 35 for 0, still trailing by a hefty 419.

Jamie Carragher believes Lionel Messi is miles ahead of long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo, claiming the Al-Nassr star is "nowhere near his level".

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Carragher hails Messi as the GOATClaims Ronaldo is "nowhere near" his levelClashes with fellow CBS Sports punditsWHAT HAPPENED?

The retired Liverpool defender-turned pundit was explosive in his backing of Messi's ability when speaking to host Kate Abdo on CBS Sports, saying there was "never a debate" between the two star forwards. The Inter Miami and Al-Nassr players have consistently been pitted against each other over their two decades at the top of the global game, but for pundits such as Carragher, Messi's superiority has never been in doubt.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesWHAT CARRAGHER SAID

"It was never a debate," said Carragher. "Ronaldo's nowhere near the level of Messi." Arguing with fellow pundit and ex-USMNT player Charlie Davis, the former Premier League defender added: "Ronaldo is one of the greatest goalscorers of all time, Messi is the greatest player of all time, it's not even close. Ronaldo scored goals, Messi scored goals and was an unbelievable player."

GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Messi's historic 2022 World Cup win with Argentina — and his dazzling performances throughout the tournament — were enough to push the balance toward the Barca legend for many people, as debates rage on about who has been the better player over the years. Since joining Inter Miami in July, Messi has continued fuelling that reputation, impressing so much that tickets to see him in action are now more in-demand "than any NFL game".

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

WHAT NEXT FOR MESSI?

It's unlikely that this debate will phase Messi at all, now that he's won everything there is to win in football. Besides, he's still got plenty of games coming up for club and country, the most pressing concern right now being to ensure his country qualify for the 2026 World Cup. And despite the fact that Messi will be pushing 40 when the competition rolls around, Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni has even backed his "unstoppable" captain to play at the tournament in North America.

Australia opener David Warner will lead Sunrisers Hyderabad in the eighth season of the IPL

Nagraj Gollapudi21-Mar-2015Australia opener David Warner will lead Sunrisers Hyderabad in the eighth season of the IPL. Warner and Sunrisers tweeted the news from their official accounts, but the management did not elaborate on the reasons.Warner will be the fifth player to lead Sunrisers and the third Australian to lead a franchise in IPL 2015. George Bailey is the captain of Kings XI Punjab while Shane Watson will lead Rajasthan Royals for the second season in a row.Warner, who joined Sunrisers only in 2014, made an instant impact finishing as the tournament’s fourth-highest run-scorer with 528 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 140.80. Still he could not swing the fortunes of Sunrisers, who finished sixth overall.It was a tough second season for Sunrisers, who made their IPL debut in 2013 after Deccan Chargers were terminated. Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan was appointed captain in 2014 but failed to provide stability at the top of the order. Since he was battling for form and consistency, the team management decided to elevate West Indies allrounder Darren Sammy to take over the captaincy for the second half of the tournament. But Sunrisers continued to flounder which probably prompted the franchise to have a re-think.Sunrisers had bought Kevin Pietersen in the auction last month for Rs 2 crore (approx $330,000) but with question marks over his availability for the upcoming IPL season, the Hyderabad franchise probably opted for a more plausible option.

Emma Hayes has revealed the heart-warming response from her son that helped her decide to take the United States women's national team job.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Hayes to leave Chelsea at end of seasonWill take charge of USWNT ahead of OlympicsReveals how son helped her make tough decisionWHAT HAPPENED?

Hayes will leave Chelsea at the end of the current season, bringing 12 incredible and illustrious years at the club to a close. She has helped turn the Blues into the dominant force in English women's football but is now set to take on a new challenge in international football, with the USWNT.

AdvertisementWHAT HAYES SAID

Speaking to about the decision to make the switch, Hayes recalled the moment she spoke to Harry, her five-year-old son, about the possibility of going to the United States. "I asked him, ‘Mummy’s got the chance to go and coach the USA team or we can stay here?’ and his reaction really helped me," she said. "I didn’t know what he was going to say, but he smiled, he hugged me, he kissed me and he said, ‘Let’s go to the USA, mummy, I’m really excited, I want to go to the USA!’ and I almost couldn’t believe it. That was it, that was the endorsement I needed."

Hayes was in a difficult moment at the time U.S. Soccer's interest became known as she had just lost her father. However, she praised the federation for its "support" and said that the role was "impossible to turn down" once they had spoken about how best to make it work.

"Truthfully, I was grieving, and I couldn’t think of anything else. I didn’t have any feeling at that point,” Hayes recalled. "So, I just felt like it was hard to make a life-changing decision, at a time that just didn’t feel right, so reaching that decision with almost a compromise to start at the end of this season was, I think, the only way I could have done it. I really can’t say enough good things about US Soccer and the way they’ve supported that decision and made me feel wanted. They’ve made me feel valued enough that they supported it. Once they agreed to all the things that really mattered to me, it was impossible to turn down."

GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Hayes will certainly not be eased into the USWNT role as her first few weeks in the job will be focused on the upcoming Olympic women's football tournament, with the nation aiming to win a record-extending fifth gold medal. With four World Cup titles also to its name, the U.S. has been the biggest side in international women's soccer for a long time now.

"Without doubt, it is a major reason I accepted the job, to go to an Olympics, a World Cup, and be leading out the most established women’s football nation,” Hayes added. "When the time comes, I will give it absolutely everything I’ve got. I know what the Olympics means to America and I’ve been made aware of that from my time living out there."

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

DID YOU KNOW?

Hayes has won 15 major honours in her time in charge of Chelsea. This season, the Blues are still alive in all four of the competitions they compete in, too, so could well add plenty to that total before the manager departs.

The pair delivered doubles for their respective sides and were instrumental in securing hard-fought wins

Getty Images1Danny Welbeck | ArsenalWelbeck scored twice and assisted the other goal in Arsenal's 3-2 victory against Southampton.AdvertisementGetty Images2Ayoze Perez | Newcastle UnitedThe Spaniard was directly involved in both of Newcastle's goals against Leicester, assisting one and scoring the second.Getty Images3Christian Eriksen | Tottenham HotspurEriksen netted both goals and also made two key passes in Spurs' 2-1 win against Stoke, which moved them level on points with third-placed Liverpool. ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty4Paul Pogba | Manchester UnitedPogba netted twice in Manchester United's comeback win at the Etihad over their local rivals, with just 97 seconds between his two finishes.

A round-up of the National Cricket League 2014-15 matches played on January 28, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-2015Dhaka Metropolis trounced Rajshahi Division by 285 runs at the BKSP-3 ground. Mehedi Maruf was adjudged Man of the Match for his maiden first-class century but two others starred for Dhaka Metro, too.Saikat Ali’s five-wicket haul in the second innings bundled Rajshahi out for 174 on the fourth morning. Dhaka Metro had earlier made 302 runs in the first innings riding on Maruf’s 141 off 201 balls, while Sanjamul Islam picked up four wickets for Rajshahi. Dhaka Metro took an 84-run lead when Rajshahi were bowled out for 218 runs. Junaid Siddique and Jubair Ahmed made fifties, but were trumped by Mohammad Shahid and Sharifullah, who took three wickets each.Dhaka Metro pulled their lead to 459 runs after Mehrab Hossain jnr struck his 14th first-class hundred to help the side to 375. Rajshahi left-arm spinner Saqlain Sajib took 6 for 120, but it couldn’t keep their second-innings target down.Saikat took the first four Rajshahi wickets to fall before picking up the ninth wicket of the innings. Sharifullah then wrapped up the game in the 45th over with Farhad Hossain was unbeaten on 85 off 125 balls.Like Dhaka Metro, Khulna Division also got off to a flying start, beating Sylhet Division by an innings and 178 runs next door at the BKSP-2 ground.Khulna declared their first innings on 536 for 8 with Tushar Imran remaining unbeaten on 177 and wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan making 115 runs, his third century in this format.Tushar’s 16th first-class century included 24 boundaries while Nurul struck 13 fours in his 173-ball innings. Khulna had three fifty-plus stands in the first four partnerships before Tushar and Nurul added 238 runs for the fifth wicket. Amit Majumder, Imrul Kayes and Mohammad Mithun also made fifties.Offspinner Sadiqur Rahman and legspinner Alok Kapali took three wickets each for Sylhet, but their reply with the bat wasn’t up to the mark.They were bowled out for 184 runs in 60.2 overs with left-arm spinner Murad Khan taking three wickets. Asked to follow on, they were bowled out for 174 runs in 58.5 overs with Abdur Razzak taking 7 for 71, his 16th five-for in first-class cricket.At the Fatullah Cricket Stadium, Rangpur Division defeated Chittagong Division by 225 runs.Batting first, Rangpur were bowled out for 269 runs with Naeem Islam’s 14th first-class hundred and Suhrawadi Shuvo’s contribution of 62 at No 8. Naeem batted for more than five hours for his 107 off 239 balls with 13 fours and two sixes. Seamer Alauddin Babu took four wickets.Chittagong, however had no answer, and were bowled out for 107 runs in 59.3 overs. Subashis Roy took three wickets while Bishawanath Halder picked up two wickets.Litton Das struck 150 in Rangpur’s second innings, off only 142 balls with the help of 19 fours and four sixes. It was his second first-class century and helped the side hammer 257 for 5 in 49 overs, extending the lead to 419 runs.Shuvo took three wickets while new-ball bowlers Sajedul Islam and Subashis took two each as Chittagong were bowled out for 194 runs in 72 overs.

The ICC has announced that Namibia will host ICC World Cricket League Division Two from January 17-24. The host side will be joined by Canada, Kenya, Netherlands and the top two teams promoted from Division Three.

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-2014The ICC has announced that Namibia has been selected to host ICC World Cricket League Division Two from January 17-24. The host side will be joined by Canada, Kenya, Netherlands and the top two teams promoted from Division Three in the six-team round-robin event. The ICC also reconfirmed that Uganda will remain host of Division Three, which is scheduled to be held from October 26-November 2, despite security concerns raised by the USA Cricket Association.Division Two represents a major opportunity for Associates to improve their status as the top teams at the event will qualify to take part in the next edition of the World Cricket League Championship 50-over competition for Associates as well as the four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup. Both competitions will begin later in 2015 and continue through 2017.In addition to the top teams from Division Two, the other teams that will feature in the next edition of the WCL Championship and Intercontinental Cup are Ireland, Afghanistan, Scotland, UAE, Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea. Ireland and Afghanistan secured qualification to the 2015 World Cup by virtue of finishing first and second in the last edition of the WCL Championship.Namibia and Kenya were the only two countries to submit bids to host Division Two with Canada and Netherlands unable to host during the northern hemisphere winter. Namibia previously hosted the inaugural WCL Division Two tournament in December 2007, which was won by Oman.