These ace strikers could make the difference this week
There’s no room for error in World Cup qualifying now. The final two games of the qualification campaign will be played over the next week. And any teams that miss out will have to wait until 2022 for their next chance to play in football’s biggest tournament.
Having a top-quality striker could make the difference between going to Russia or missing out. And the Coral News Team have picked out five forwards who’ve come into the international break on top of their game.
Harry Kane
There’s only one place to start and that’s with Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane. The 24-year-old has still yet to score a Premier League goal during August, but he more than made up for it with his superb displays in September.
Kane scored 13 goals in just eight games for club and country last month. He’s now bagged an incredible six hat-tricks in 2017, following his latest trio against APOEL Nicosia.
England need one win from their two upcoming games to ensure they qualify as group winners. Slovenia and Lithuania will be next in Kane’s sights.
Kane is 9/4 to be First Goalscorer against Slovenia on Thursday.
Romelu Lukaku
One of Kane’s biggest challengers for the Premier League Golden Boot will be Romelu Lukaku. The former Everton striker almost guarantees goals and he’s been even more prolific since joining Manchester United.
Lukaku is leading the way in the Premier League with seven goals this term. He’s only failed to score on one of his 10 starts following his £90m move to Old Trafford.
The 24-year-old is a clinical finisher, superb in the air and quicker and stronger than most defenders. Good luck to anyone coming up against him in this form.
Lionel Messi
This could be Lionel Messi’s last chance to win a World Cup. But Argentina need him to deliver this week just to qualify for the tournament.
La Albiceleste are without a win in three games and are fifth in the South American qualifying group. They’re on course for the play-offs but can’t afford any slip-ups against Peru or Ecuador.
Fortunately, Messi is in blistering form. He’s already got 11 La Liga goals in just seven appearances this season. His displays have fired Barcelona to the top of La Liga and eased the pain of losing Neymar.
Ciro Immobile
Italy are three points behind Group G leaders Spain and will probably need to pick up maximum points against Macedonia and Albania to have a chance of overhauling them. Anything’s possible with Ciro Immobile in such a rich vein of form.
The Lazio forward has nine goals in seven Serie A appearances this term. He’s also set up three goals for his teammates too.
Immobile has managed to score with his right foot, left foot and head during the current campaign.
Robert Lewandowski
Bayern Munich might be going through a rough patch but Robert Lewandowski has still been firing the goals in. He’s got eight league goals so far, the joint-highest total in the division.
Lewandowski’s also scored 12 goals for Poland during the qualification campaign. Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player in Europe with more (14).
Poland are top of Group E, but Montenegro and Denmark are both only three points behind. Adam Nawalka’s team need four points from their last two games to ensure they go straight to the group stage.
Lewandowski is 1/3 to score Anytime against Armenia on Thursday.
