Top scorers at World Cup so far

There has not been any doubt about this World Cup being one of the most exciting in recent times with defending champions Spain having been eliminated with still a game to spare in the group stages while Costa Rica have emerged as surprise group toppers from the Group of Death.

Although this World Cup has not witnessed good defensive displays so far, barring Iran, it has churned out some quality goals already.

Here, is the list of top netters at the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup preliminary stage.

1. Thomas Muller (Germany) – 4 goals, 1 assist

Germany kicked off their World Cup campaign with a 4-0 thrashing of 10-man Portugal and it was Muller who was the arch protagonist with a hat trick. The 2010 Golden Boot winner signaled his intentions to retain the award with a clinical display in Salvador.

2. Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 4 goals

The main criticism levelled against Messi is that he has underperformed for Argentina and never won a World Cup. He is doing his best to address these issues in Brazil.

The Barcelona star struck a superb low shot into the corner to score the winner against Bosnia, and then netted a dramatic late goal against Iran to ensure Argentina’s passage through to the second-round. Messi fired a rebound into the roof of the net to put his side ahead against Nigeria and scored an exquisite free-kick just before half-time to further silence his critics.

3. Neymar (Brazil) – 4 goals

Brazil are pinning many of their World Cup hopes on Neymar fulfilling his unquestionable potential on the big stage. He made a good start on match-day one with a double against Croatia.

He scored with a superbly placed low shot to level the match in the first-half and netted a penalty in the second to earn Brazil the points. Neymar produced a man-of-the-match performance in the 4-1 win over Cameroon, gliding home the first and cutting inside to fire in the second to put his side on the way to topping Group A.

4. Karim Benzema (France) – 3 goals, 2 assists

After a disappointing Euro 2012, the Real Madrid striker hit the ground running in Brazil with a double against Honduras in the first game. He netted from the penalty spot before the break, and contributed heavily to the own-goal which made it 2-0. He scored his second when hammering home a powerful shot at the near post. Against Switzerland he took advantage of a Philippe Senderos error to make it 4-0.

5. James Rodriguez (Colombia) – 3 goals, 2 assists

The Monaco attacker scored in each of the three group games as Colombia swept all before them. He put the icing on the cake in a 3-0 win over Greece with an injury-time strike into the corner, and scored a near-post header to put his side 1-0 against Ivory Coast. His chip in the 4-1 win over Japan was immaculate and he has been one of the tournament’s best players so far.

6. Arjen Robben (Holland) – 3 goals, 1 assist

The Bayern Munich star again demonstrated that he was the man for the big occasion with a double in the 5-1 destruction of Spain. He expertly controlled a Daley Blind pass before dispatching the ball into the net to make it 2-1 and added to his tally by outpacing Sergio Ramos, beating Iker Casillas and firing past two defenders on the line. In the Australia game, he briefly put his side ahead with a low effort after dribbling into the area.

7. Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland) – 3 goals

A peripheral figure at Bayern Munich, Shaqiri is central to the plans of Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld. He filled his boots in the final group game, scoring a hat-trick to ensure the Swiss moved through to the second round ahead of Ecuador.

First he let fly with a stunning 25-yard strike before collecting a Josip Drmic pass and finishing calmly. He beat Noel Valladares again in the 71st minute after another Drmic pass.

8. Enner Valencia (Ecuador) – 3 goals

The lesser known of the two Valencia’s – the other being Manchester United’s Antonio – put his side ahead in the defeat against Switzerland and then scored twice in the 2-1 win over Honduras. He stretched to slot home a deflected Juan Paredes shot and then rose to head in a Walter Ayovi free-kick to give his side the win.