World Cup 2010: Race for the Golden Boot Heats Up

As the World Cup reaches its climax, the race for the Golden Boot (awarded to the World Cup's highest goal scorer) is getting hotter.

Spain striker David Villa is the bookies' outright favorite to win the Golden Boot now, after his match-winning goal against Paraguay. Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder and German striker Miroslav Klose are hot on his heels with four goals each.

The candidates for this World Cup's Golden Boot award are:

        Player                      Matches                Goals

David Vila              5                           5

*Thomas Muller       5                           4

Wesley Sneijder      5                           4

Miroslav Klose         4                           4

Diego Forlan           3                           5

**Luis Suarez         3                           5

*Thomas Muller is suspended for the German's semi-final game.

**Luis Suarez is suspended for the semi-final after his red card vs. Ghana, and his ban may be extended to more games, so even if Uruguay qualifies for the final it is highly unlikely that Suarez plays any further part.

Slovakia's Robert Vittek and Argentina's Gonzalo Higuain were both on four goals, but both Slovakia and Argentina are out of the World Cup, leaving them out of the running for the Golden Boot.