GOAL50 2022: Ronaldo Nazario vs Gabriel Batistuta

As well as asking GOAL readers to vote for the best male and female players on the planet in GOAL50, this year we’re also introducing our new World Cup Wonders section.

In this category, we’re celebrating some of the greatest names ever to steal the show on the grandest stage of all, but we need you to pick between some of the World Cup’s top stars of yesteryear.

Both Ronaldo Nazario and Gabriel Batistuta left their mark on the tournament in different ways, although for these star strikers from eternal South American rivals Brazil and Argentina, goals were certainly a common language.

The original Ronaldo was nicknamed the Phenomenon for a reason, winning the Ballon d’Or at just 21, three years after he’d won his first World Cup with the Selecao.

While his mesmerising displays at the 1998 tournament ended in heartbreak, as he was taken sick on the eve of the final, and was a shadow of himself against France, he returned in style—and with goals—to win the tournament in 2002.

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In ’06 he took his World Cup tally to 15 – breaking the record for goals at the tournament, before being overtaken by Miroslav Klose – demonstrating immense courage to battle back from a series of devastating knee injuries.

For all of his achievements, Ronaldo never did what his former Serie A rival Batistuta did at the World Cup, with the Argentina superstar the only player in history to score hat-tricks at two separate editions of the tournament.

The striker – who certainly lived up to his ‘Batigol’ nickname – netted a treble against Greece at the ’94 tournament, before putting Jamaica to the sword with a treble in France four years later.

He may have never won the title, but the Fiorentina legend has an awesome World Cup goalscoring record of 10 goals in 12 matches – a better goals-to-games ratio than even Ronaldo himself!

Will that be enough for the Argentina great to get your GOAL50 vote ahead of R9?

Voting is open from November 15 until December 18. It couldn't be easier, so get voting!

Remember, it's not our list, it's yours.
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