World Cup 2014 FIFA Golden Boot Trophy Race: Who Will Win The FIFA Golden Boot Trophy? [POLL]

…And then there were three. After 63 of the best games we have seen at any World Cup, the coveted 2014 FIFA Golden Boot will be crowned on Sunday to one of three men. Germany’s Thomas Mueller and Argentina’s Lionel Messi will be fighting head to head for the award on Sunday where somewhere Colombia’s James Rodriguez will watch the match with bated breath to see if either of the two can catch him.

Rodriguez currently leads the race with six goals. He scored those goals in an astonishing five appearances where as his counterparts will have had seven after Sunday. Rodriguez must have been thrilled after the semifinals earlier in the week when Mueller only score one goal in Germany’s 7-1 thrashing of the hosts, Brazil. Messi went scoreless for Argentina the following day.

Messi is the furthest back in the race. He currently sits third behind Mueller and Rodriguez, respectively. In order to overtake them both, he would need two goals and an assist in the championship match on Sunday. The odds are against “La Pulga”, but let’s be honest, if there’s one trophy he would prefer to hoist on Sunday; it’s not the Golden Boot.

Mueller will be the one to watch in the World Cup Final at the Maracana. Mueller is the reigning FIFA Golden Boot winner after scoring 5 goals at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. No player has ever won the award at two consecutive World Cups, and Mueller is just one goal away from the feat.

His teammate, Miroslav Klose, is a former Golden Boot winner himself, and is the World Cup’s all-time leading goal scorer after he netted his 16^th all-time goal against Brazil last Tuesday. Klose hopes that Mueller can score and win the award while his team lifts the cup in Rio, “Of course I would like Thomas to get it for a second time.” he said matter of factly. “But then he already has a (golden) boot. As I have a golden one and a silver one, it might be nice if he could also have a silver one.”

Mueller knows how amazing it would be to win the World Cup and become the first player to ever win consecutive Golden Boot trophies. As special as the accomplishment would be, when asked about it he remained steadfast:

“I hope, of course that I can help my team with a goal in the final. But if not then it’s not so bad. I just want to win the cup with the team.” he told reporters on Friday.