2) Most goals by a player in a single tournament
The first two editions of the tournament in 1992 and 1995 saw only four and eight matches in total respectively – hardly any game time to score a few goals. Which is why Argentina’s Gabriel Batistuta (2 goals) and Mexico’s Luis Garcia (3 goals) walked away with the Golden Boot without really troubling defences.
However, since the 1997 edition, there have been 16 games in total as eight teams were included. That’s three group stage matches, a semi-final and either a third-place playoff or final – six games to bang in a few goals and deservedly win the Golden Boot.
The current record is held by Brazilian striker Romario who scored 7 goals in the 1997 edition that was held in Saudi Arabia (sadly, he was unfit for the World Cup in 1998). In second place is Ronaldinho with 6 goals in 1999. The lowest number of goals scored to win the prize in the 16-game edition was 2 goals scored by Rober Pires for France in 2001.
Can Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo or Chile’s Alexis Sanchez win it this time?
Verdict: Breakable
| YEAR | PLAYER | COUNTRY | GOALS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Romario | Brazil | 7 |
| 1999 | Ronaldinho | Brazil | 6 |
| 2005 | Adriano | Brazil | 5 |
| 2009 | Luis Fabiano | Brazil | 5 |
| 2013 | Fernando Torres | Spain | 5 |
