Together with 1xBet, we remember the best strikers of past World Cups, who were not considered the favourites, but managed to surprise the world.
African shooters
So far, the best goalscorers of African national teams in the final parts of past World Cups have been Asamoah Gyan (6 goals for Ghana in three championships in 2006, 2010, and 2014) and Roger Milla (5 goals for Cameroon in three championships in 1982, 1990 and 1994). All of Asamoah Gyan's World Cup goals can be seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wat227NcaOo
All of Roger Milla's goals at the world championships can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrtWQSqD3A0
Even though Gyan finished playing for the national team three years ago and Milla celebrated his 70th birthday this year, African teams still have plenty of talented players. Who knows - maybe one of them will become the top scorer at the World Cup in Qatar.
Sandor Kocsis: 1954, 11 goals
At the world championships in Switzerland, the Hungarian national team, for which Kocsis played, was considered the clear favourite. The Hungarians were the current Olympic champions (at that time the Olympics had not yet sent youth teams), and had not lost in official matches since May 1950.
However, the leading contender for the title of the best scorer of the championship was considered another player of the Golden Team - Ferenc Puskás, the captain of the Hungarian national squad. But, in the second game of the championship, Puskás got a serious injury after a dirty foul by German national team defender Werner Liebrich and was forced to miss the next two games.
Hungary's best hope was Kocsis - a technical, fast, and decisive player from Budapest Honvéd Football Club. Sándor did not let fans down: he scored eleven goals in five games in the championship (the second-best result in the history of the World Cup). The Brazilians, against whom Kocsis scored two goals in the quarter-finals, were so angry at him that, after the final whistle, they tried to beat him up on the field.
Grzegorz Lato: 1974, 7 goals
We're willing to bet you've never heard of FC Stal (Mielec), where Lato spent most of his career. Plus, very little was known about the Polish national team before the World Cup that year. It was their first Mundial since the end of World War II! However, in 1974 the White Eagles were a real sensation in Germany and managed to take third place, winning the decisive match against Brazil, with Jairzinho and Roberto Rivelino shining in the side.
One of the main creators of this success was Grzegorz Lato, who became the best scorer in the championship and a national hero of Poland. And although "Bolek" was not known for his outstanding technique, he made up for it with his high speed and impressive eye for goal - four of his seven goals were scored while in the opponents' goal crease!
Salvatore Schillaci: 1990, 6 goals
Before the World Cup, Schillaci, who played for Juventus, was not considered Squadra Azzurra’s main forward. In fact, he had only played two games for the national team by the start of the Mundial, including one game for the U21 team. He was almost a mere bench warmer, but fate had other plans. In their first game against Austria, the Italians were struggling to dominate and the spectators at Stadio Olimpico were furious. So, coach Adzello Vicini decided to take a risk - in the 75th minute he substituted the main striker Andrea Carnevale with "Toto". Three minutes later, Schillaci scored the winning goal, and the whole of Italy breathed a sigh of relief.
Then Salvatore had his moment of glory - he did a great job in each of the following games except for the match against the United States. Alas, Schillaci scored roughly one goal per game, but in the semifinals against Argentina it was not enough - the match ended with a score of 1-1. And then for the penalty, the shoot-out coach chose other players (most likely all of Italy still wants to know the reason for this baffling decision). As a result, Argentina won, but Schillaci was entrusted to kick the decisive penalty in the match for third place against England - with 4 minutes left to the end of regular time and the score tied 1-1. "Toto" did not let supporters down - Italy won 2-1 and took the bronze.
Davor Schucker: 1998, 6 goals
By the summer of 1998 Europe was well aware that Davor knew how to play soccer - at that time he was a player for Real Madrid, the super club that won the Champions League 20 days before the World Cup. In that match, though, the 30-year-old Shuker was not the main star and didn't take to the pitch until the 89th minute. Besides, Croatia came to its first World Cup, and therefore nobody expected anything extraordinary from them. But the Croats finished third, with Schucker scoring in six of their seven games.
James Rodriguez: 2014, 6 goals
If someone had asked Colombians six months before the World Cup who would be the national team's top scorer at the Mundial, the vast majority would have named Monaco forward Radamel Falcao. Those hopes were not to be though: in January 2014 Falcao ruptured his cruciate ligaments and did not go to Brazil. But rather, it was Radamel's Monaco partner James Rodriguez, an attacking midfielder who had never fully realised his potential, that led the Colombians to victory.
Number 10 of Los Cafeteros showed in every match that he could not only lead the game and give assists, but also complete attacks. It is noteworthy that Rodriguez scored goals in a variety of styles: a long-range shot, header, with a penalty, from the goalkeeper's spot, and rebounding off the back of a Japanese defender after a beautiful feint.
However, 1xBet has many more betting options - you can bet on the result of each game, the best goalkeeper, heel goals, and even on how Tunisia do in the championship. 1xBet is the official partner of Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, LOSC Lille, La Liga, and Serie A. This company takes care of its reputation, and its customers do not have to worry about how to withdraw money from their gaming accounts. So if you know a lot about soccer and want the chance to make money on it, why not visit 1xBet?