World Cup 2018 Golden Boot: Kane beats Lukaku & Mbappe to top scorer award

Defenders are not usually known for their goalscoring abilities, but England centre-back John Stones has shown himself to be a serious threat from set-pieces in Russia. The Manchester City man may not be likely to challenge his compatriot Kane for the Golden Boot, but he was eager to contribute more goals as the Three Lions went in search of a second world title. Unfortunately for Stones, he had a potential winner in the semi-final against Croatia cleared off the line as England lost in extra-time.

He, like his team-mates, did not find the net in their 2-0 loss to Belgium in the third-place game.

Mile Jedinak is part of a very exclusive group as one of Australia's 13 World Cup goalscorers and his strikes in Russia mean that he has now moved behind Tim Cahill as the second-highest Socceroos scorer at the tournament.

Ahmed Musa has made a habit of scoring doubles at the World Cup, following up his 2014 brace against Argentina with another against Iceland in 2018. 

Liverpool's star forward Mohamed Salah was hobbled by a shoulder injury heading into Russia 2018 picked up in the Champions League final. But that didn't stop him from scoring a penalty in a comeback against Russsia and against Arab rivals Saudi Arabia.

Sergio Aguero scored Argentina's first and last goals at the World Cup, netting against Iceland in the opening game of Group D and grabbing a late consolation goal in their last 16 defeat to France.

After opening his account against Nigeria, Real Madrid playmaker Luka Modric scored a sensational long-range effort against Argentina to get off to great start in Russia. However, he was denied from the penalty spot against Denmark in the last 16 and failed to find the net thereafter, despite Croatia progressing to the final.

Brazil's talisman Neymar took a while to get going at the World Cup after winning the race to regain fitness ahead of the tournament and he will be disappointed with his overall contribution after the Selecao were dumped out by Belgium in the quarter-finals. 

Having failed to find the net in the opener against Switzerland the Paris Saint-Germain star struck in the dying moments of his side's 2-0 win over Costa Rica before giving his side the lead in their last 16 encounter with Mexico.

The attacking midfielder scored his first goal of the tournament when pulling the score back to 1-1 during Japan’s 2-2 draw with Senegal in their second group match. Inui notched his second goal of the World Cup with a well-struck effort to help his side into a shock 2-0 lead over Belgium in their last-16 encounter, but the Blue Samurai lost out in the end.

Philippe Coutinho was competing at the World Cup for the first time in his career and the 26-year-old showed himself to be a vital part of Brazil's team. As his goals in Russia demonstrated, Barcelona star is capable of scoring from distance and is also adept at timing his runs so that he arrives in the box at the right moment to finish a move.

Tunisia’s captain opened his World Cup account by scoring a consolation in stoppage time in the 5-2 defeat by Belgium in his side’s second group game. He then earned Tunisia victory in their final game against Panama as his 66th minute effort secured a 2-1 win as he became the first player from his country to score more than once at a World Cup.

The Paris Saint-Germain striker netted twice in Uruguay's last 16 tie against Portugal to take his tally up to three in Russia. 

Cavani netted the opener early on in the game before Pepe equalised for Portugal – but the Uruguay international slotted in finely soon after the break to take the lead 2-1. However, injury and Uruguay's subsequent elimination against France means he won't be adding to his haul.

Diego Costa has established himself as one of the leading marksmen in European football over the past five years and he rose to the occasion for Spain at the 2018 World Cup. The Atletico Madrid striker does not possess the attributes that defined the success of the 2008-2012 era, but La Roja are able to play to his strengths by delivering the ball to him early and allowing him to trouble defences. Unfortunately, he wasn't be able to add to his tally after Spain were eliminated by Russia in the last 16.

Yerry Mina may have struggled since joining Barcelona, but he is proving himself to be a real hero for Colombia. After not featuring in the opening-game defeat by Japan, the centre-back started against Poland and headed home the first goal in the 3-0 victory. He again proved his aerial prowess in the decisive final group fixture against Senegal, rising well to head home the only goal to send Colombia through to the last 16 as Group H winners.

He then netted the equalising goal in Colombia's last 16 fixture against England in stoppage time to make it 1-1, but lost in the shootout.

The Inter midfielder delivered the 90th minute winner against Iceland to cap off the group stage, sealing a perfect opening round of the World Cup for Croatia. Held off the board for his nation's next two games, he picked a great time to net his second.

Perisic's 68th-minute equaliser sparked back to life a Croatia side that had been struggling against England in the semi-final. It proved to be enough to get the match to extra-time at 1-1, which set the stage for Perisic to assist on Mario Mandzukic's 109th minute winner to send Croatia to their first ever World Cup final. 

Perisic scored his third and final goal of the tournament in the final, but it wasn't enough in the end.

Unlike many of the goalscorers on this list who did their work in the group stage, Manduzkic saved his best for the business end of the World Cup. The Juventus forward opened his account in the 2018 tournament when he scored early on against Denmark in the last 16, which Croatia won on penalties.

While he was held off the board against Russia in the quarter-final, he managed to net an assist in the contest, which Croatia also won on penalties. Then Mandzukic scored perhaps the biggest goal in his career in the semi-final against England, alertly getting to an Ivan Perisic header and slotting it past Jordan Pickford to give Croatia a 2-1 advantage in the 109th minute. It proved the difference and sent the nation to their first ever World Cup final. 

The Juventus star scored in both ends in the final following up an own goal with a fortuitous effort as Croatia lost 4-2 to France.

Eden Hazard is Belgium's captain and talisman, so it is little surprise to see him at the forefront of their campaign to secure glory on the international stage. The Chelsea playmaker has struck up an impressive relationship with Lukaku in attack and it has been particularly fruitful for the Red Devils. Hazard was not far behind the Manchester United man in terms of goals in qualifying and he has continued that trend in Russia, though his side were unable to get past France in a 1-0 semi-final defeat.

Hazard added one more goal for the road as he delivered Belgium's final goal of the 2018 World Cup, capping a 2-0 win over England in the third-place game for the nation's best ever finish. 

Like Cheryshev, Artem Dzyuba was not a starter for Russia in their opening game, but the Zenit forward has forced his way into the reckoning after showing that he has the ability to find the net on a regular basis.

While he is undoubtedly one of the greatest goalscorers ever to grace the planet, Cristiano Ronaldo's record at the World Cup was abysmal - until Russia 2018. Portugal's record-holder for both goals and appearances had scored just three goals in total across three tournament before taking to the field in his country's opener against Spain. The rest is history: a remarkable hat-trick against La Roja was followed by the goal that saw him overtake Ferenc Puskas as the top international scorer in European football history.

Despite not being a starter for Russia in their opening game, Denis Cheryshev has emerged as one of the World Cup's breakout stars and he now appears to be a key component for the hosts in their push for glory. The Villarreal winger showed plenty of guile and was a surprising contender in the race for the Golden Boot.

Despite being only 19, Kylian Mbappe enjoyed a stellar tournament in Russia, scoring four goals for France as they won the World Cup.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward opened his account against Peru, but announced himself as a star of the competition with a double in the last 16 win over Argentina. Mbappe wrapped things up with a goal in the final against Croatia, which helped Les Bleus on to their second world title.

Romelu Lukaku arrived in Russia as Belgium's all-time leading goalscorer and the Manchester United striker has further cemented that legacy at this World Cup as the Red Devils attempt to live up to expectations. The 25-year-old has already broken records at the tournament and looked primed to surpass the national record of five World Cup goals set by his compatriot Marc Wilmots.

But despite having plenty of influence in Belgium's goals in the knockout rounds, including the winner against Japan and the winner against Brazil, Lukaku did not find the net himself. That left him short of Wilmots, as well as the top spot for the Golden Boot.

Antoine Griezmann has emerged as one of France's key players and he continues to show why he is so important to Les Bleus as he adds to his goal tally. The Atletico Madrid man scored all three of his goals at the tournament from the penalty spot - including one in the final against Croatia.

Having dominated the scoring charts in the Premier League in recent years, Harry Kane has finally translated that to international level and England are reaping the benefits.

The Tottenham striker was handed the captain's armband by Gareth Southgate ahead of the World Cup and he is repaying that faith in abundance, making history along the way. 

Kane scored six goals in six games for the Three Lions, including a hat-trick against Panama and, despite failing to score in the quarter-final, semi-final or third-place play-off, he managed to clinch the accolade.