Five potential Golden Boot winners at this summer’s World Cup

4. Mario Mandzukic: Croatia (13 goals in 48 games)

Croatia head to Brazil with a potent squad on paper but without the usual, well-drilled fluency of their greats teams of the recent past.

Having stumbled through qualification, they had to rely on the play-offs to ensure themselves of a place at the World Cup rather than booking their tickets automatically in the preliminary, European group stage.

However, Niko Kovac’s squad is still full of talent, particularly in midfield where their roster looks set to be one of the most creative at the tournament. If they can combine the talents of Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Mateo Kovacic and Ivan Perisic into a swirling vortex of playmakers rather than an overcooked broth spoiled by an over-supply of cooks, they could be a major threat to unlock any defence this summer.

Ahead of this swarming pack of creators will be Mario Mandzukic, the tireless Bayern Munich striker who will be ready and willing to chase down lost causes and finished off the chances conjured up by his team-mates with equal relish.

Having spent the past season playing for a club intent on replacing him with Robert Lewandowski next campaign, Mandzukic may feel he has something to prove and a lot to show off in Brazil, with a plethora of top club suitors said to be monitoring his situation with the Bundesliga champions closely.

Yet his experience leading the line for Bayern could well stand him in good stead to make a major impact at the World Cup, with the Croatian having played ahead of a similarly convoluted array of attacking midfielders under Pep Guardiola over the past year. His ferocious work rate, snappy Bundesliga shot accuracy rate of 67% and talent supply line of co-stars could make him a surprise candidate to grab the goals this summer, but much will depend on whether Croatia can hit form and progress into the later stages.