Brazil striker Ronaldo heads to Germany with his teammates in search of a record-sixth World Cup title, but for the Real Madrid ace there is more at stake. With a total of 12 goals in his last two participations in 1998 and 2002, Ronaldo is just three goals away from becoming the most successful striker in World Cup history, a place currently occupied by Germany's icon Gerd Muller who has 14 goals to his name. Ronaldo also has another objective, becoming the only player to win back-to-back Golden Boot awards for top-scorer after his eight goals in Korea and Japan in 2002 placed him atop the list. Although the 30-year-old striker is struggling with weight problems and failed to lead Real Madrid to any title in the past three seasons, he remains one of the most prolific goal-getters in Spain and the World. Brazil's average opponents in Group F such as Australia and Croatia may give Ronaldo a golden opportunity to register his name as one of the game's legends. But Ronaldo is not alone. Several other players will be eying the top-scorer title even though they are far away from the Brazilian's eventual milestone. Germany forward Miroslav Klose is a frontrunner for the title as well. His two goals in the opening match against Costa Rica set him on course for the coveted glory and took his all-time World Cup tally to seven goals. Werder Bremen's Klose still has two supposedly easy games against Ecuador and Poland in Group A and he hopes to hit more goals before his home crowd to enter the list of the best ten scorers in the tournament's history. In Group B, England's Michael Owen, who has been his country's surprise package in 1998, and Swedish veteran Henrik Larsson are tipped to be the group's dangerous strikers. Owen has fully recovered from an injury that nagged him for the majority of the domestic campaign with Newcastle and looks ready to cover the absence of Wayne Rooney.
Italy's Luca Toni Larsson bowed out of Barcelona on a high note after his experience and class helped the Catalans retain the Spanish League title and win the UEFA Champions League. English Premiership strikers Didier Drogba, Hernan Crespo, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Robin Van Persie are the most prominent figures in Group C. Chelsea duo Crespo and Drogba scored a goal each when Argentina played Ivory Coast while Holland will depend on Van Nistelrooy of Manchester United and Van Persie of Arsenal to advance to the next round. Portugal forward Pedro Pauleta is almost the best striker featured by Group D where he can add to his three goals in past World Cups when he takes on Iran and Angola. In Group E, the world will be looking forward to watch Italy and Fiorentina striker Luca Toni who stunned the Serie A this season with his 31 league goals, the best tally since 1959 when Valentin Angelillo of Inter Milan found the net 33 times. The 30-year-old kept his dazzling form and secured a starting spot in the Azzurri alongside Milan's Alberto Gilardino and he now faces an international challenge after excelling in the domestic one. French pair Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet partner in Group G to in a bid to steer their homeland to the second round and extend their scoring tally in the World Cup. Arsenal captain Henry was the Premiership's top scorer four times in the past five seasons and has three goals in his World Cup career while Trezeguet had two impressive seasons with Juventus and one World Cup goal to his name. Saudi Arabia and Tunisia are seen as perfect opponents for Spain striker Raul Gonzalez and Chelsea new-signing Andriy Shevchenko. Raul had a poor campaign with Real Madrid and can't wait to silence skeptics and Shevchenko, who provided the lift for his country to appear in the World Cup, is eager to fire into the Arabs' net.
