With a second successive World Cup Golden Boot in his sights, Harry Kane represents England’s greatest hope of glory in Qatar.
But did you know that the Tottenham Hotspur talisman, who needs just two goals to overtake Wayne Rooney in the Three Lions’ history books, is only the eighth-most prolific international marksmen on a flight to the Middle East?
In fact, you could double Kane’s tally of 51 England strikes and he still wouldn’t find himself in the same postcode as Cristiano Ronaldo. But can arguably the greatest finisher of all time put those rather well-publicised issues behind him as he bids to drag Portugal to a first ever World Cup title?
For better or for worse, 37-year-old Ronaldo is almost certain to start for Fernando Santos’ side. Even if the general consensus is that both club and country perform better without him these days.
Can Cristiano Ronaldo put Manchester United drama behind him in Qatar?
Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski and Neymar, meanwhile, head into the tournament in frankly obscene form. You cannot say the same about Romelu Lukaku, however; injuries restricting one of the stars of Euro 2020 to just four Serie A appearances on loan at Inter Milan. Lukaku has still been included in Belgium’s 26-man squad. Whether he is fit enough to feature, however, remains to be seen; reports claiming that the Chelsea flop is yet to train alongside his Rote Duivels team-mates.
If Belgium remain one of the World Cup’s pedigree stallions, then Uruguay and Serbia are dark horses by comparison.
Uruguay coach Diego Alves may have presided over a much-needed overhaul, blooding a number of technically gifted and exciting youngsters, but don’t be surprised if he still fields a strikeforce old enough to qualify for a free bus pass
Between them, Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani have 126 international goals.
It’s testament to Aleksandr Mitrovic’s importance to Serbia, meanwhile, that Fulham’s firebrand number 45 could be chosen to lead the line ahead of Juventus’ £72 million frontman Dusan Vlahovic.
Familiar faces and new heroes
Qatar will see a host of familiar faces ride into battle again. Germany’s Thomas Muller, the Netherlands’ Memphis Depay, Wales’ Gareth Bale, Denmark’s Christian Eriksen, and France duo Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud all boast remarkable international records.
The evergreen Giroud, like Kane, could become his nation’s all-time record goalscorer in time for Christmas. He needs just two to draw level with Thierry Henry on 51. Giroud, at 36, might not be the most glamorous centre-forward in the tournament but he remains the glue that holds this France attack together; bringing the best out of Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe in particular.
Few have given host nation Qatar much hope of emulating Russia in 2018 or South Korea in 2002. But it should not go unnoticed that they have two forwards with over 30 internationals goals in their roster; Almoez Ali and Hassan Al-Haydos.
Surprise packages?
Qatar will open up the tournament against Ecuador on Sunday. A game that will re-unite supporters of Everton and West Ham United with a man they’ve probably forgotten all about over the last couple of years.
But write off Enner Valencia, on the back of a remarkable run of form for Fenerbahce, at your peril.
“I saw the Ballon d’Or rhetoric on social media and I liked it,” Valencia smiles, having scored 13 goals in just 12 Super Lig games this term.
“Everywhere, they call me ‘GOAT’ now! I’m not called by my first and last name, everyone uses this nickname. I like it too. If our fans are happy about it, I’m happy too. The love they have shown is incredible! They call me ‘Superman’ in Ecuador, they call me GOAT in Turkey.”
In total, Valencia is one of 25 players heading to Qatar looking to add to their tally of over 30 international goals.
The Qatar World Cup’s most prolific players ranked
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) – 117
Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 90
Robert Lewandowski (Poland) – 76
Neymar (Brazil) – 75
Romelu Lukaku (Belgium) and Luis Suarez (Uruguay) – 68
Edinson Cavani (Uruguay) – 58
Harry Kane (England) – 51
Aleksandr Mitrovic (Serbia) – 50
Olivier Giroud (France) – 49
Thomas Muller (Germany) – 44
Memphis Depay (Netherlands), Antoine Griezmann (France) and Almoez Ali (Qatar) – 42
Sardar Azmoun (Iran) – 41
Gareth Bale (Wales) – 40
Christian Eriksen (Denmark) – 39
Karim Benzema (France) – 37
Hassan Al-Haydos (Qatar) – 36
Enner Valencia (Ecuador) and Heung-Min Son (South Korea) – 35
Sadio Mane (Senegal) – 34
Eden Hazard (Belgium) and Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon) – 33
Ivan Perisic (Tottenham Hotspur) – 32
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