David Villa is in pole position to land the World Cup’s Golden Boot following a dramatic quarter-final stage.

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The Spain star (8/13 bet365) netted a late winner against Paraguay to take his tally for the tournament to five, and now holds a one-goal lead heading into the semi-finals.

But if the Barcelona new-boy thinks he is going to have it easy, three men beg to differ after firing themselves into contention – especially Germany frontman Miroslav Klose (9/2 Coral).
The 2006 winner struck twice in the second half of the 4-0 rout of Argentina to take his total to four goals, moving within one of Ronaldo’s all-time record of 15 (7/2 Ladbrokes to break it).
Joining Klose, after also netting against Argentina, is team-mate Thomas Muller (22/1 Paddy Power) , the little-known midfielder prior to the tournament that has turned himself into a household name. However, Muller’s second yellow card of the tournament in that match means he will miss the semi-final clash with Spain, and will only have one more game to add to his tally – either the final of the third-place play-off.

Another unlikely contender is Holland midfielder Wesley Sneijder (12/1 totesport) who netted a brace against Brazil, with FIFA having credited him with the opener despite his set-piece going in off Brazilian defender Felipe Melo.

Back on three goals are Uruguay pair Diego Forlan (18/1 SkyBet) and Luis Suarez (250/1 Coral), and the latter has been handed a huge reprieve after FIFA confirmed he would only serve a one-match ban for his deliberate handball in the quarter-final win over Ghana, meaning he will be free to play in either the final or the third-place play-off next weekend.

So it is all to play for in the goalscoring stakes with just the semi-finals, third-place play-off and final to come - and red-hot Villa will take some beating!