Least accurate strikers at the 2014 World Cup.5) Hulk (Brazil)
A frustrating player arguably not deserving of his place in the Brazil side at the moment, Hulk has been highly ineffective in the World Cup so far, wracking up a high number of shots (10) but failing to find the back of the net once. The Zenit Saint Petersburg forward has been linked with some of Europe’s biggest clubs in recent times and has a good record with the Russian giants and with his previous club Porto, but he arguably looks off the pace on the big stage, with his performances for his country never really matching the big reputation he has earned from his performances in his club career. These shot stats don’t even include Hulk’s woeful penalty miss in Saturday’s shoot-out victory over Chile. Arsenal are supposedly working on buying him this summer, but may want to think again after this showing.
4) Ogenyi Onazi (Nigeria)
Perhaps Lazio midfielder Ogenyi Onazi can be forgiven for being a defensive midfielder and therefore not one you would naturally look to for goals anyway, but that hasn’t stopped the Nigerian firing in 11 shots at the World Cup so far, with these numerous efforts coming in just three games in the group stage, an average of 3.7 shots per game but with an accuracy of precisely zero per cent. The 21-year-old is a good prospect, having caught the eye of some big clubs during his time with Lazio, but with just one goal in Serie A this season, finding the back of the net is clearly not his speciality.
3) Nani (Portugal)
A player who has been badly off form for his club Manchester United, Nani has hardly been sparkling for Portugal in their short stay at this summer’s World Cup either. The once-great winger did manage to score his first goal since November when he got himself on the scoresheet in his side’s game against the USA, but that solitary success is his only goal in a total of 12 attempts in Brazil, coming in just three games as Portugal were knocked out of their admittedly tough group also containing Germany and Ghana. Having gained a reputation for being something of a selfish and unreliable player, the stats certainly back that up here as Nani failed to show up for his country in a big tournament. An exit from Old Trafford could also be on the cards this summer after a couple of seasons of below-par form now.
2) Edin Dzeko (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
A Premier League title winner with Manchester City this season, and one of the star players for the champions towards the end of their successful campaign, Edin Dzeko has perhaps earned a reputation throughout his career for not quite being as accurate in front of goal as he should be. Despite good scoring records in the Bundesliga with his previous club Wolfsburg, Dzeko has sometimes lacked a little composure in the faster pace of the English game, and has been noted for missing easy chances all too often. The Bosnian international certainly benefits from a great deal of quality service from his world class team-mates at the Etihad Stadium, but he has not been as reliable a performer for his national side at this summer’s World Cup, scoring just one goal from a fairly high total of 13 attempts – an average of 4.3 shots per game as his side went out in the group stages of the competition.
1) Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
The 2013 Ballon d’Or winner, a Champions League winner with Real Madrid, an £80m signing and a general global superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo has certainly flopped at the 2014 World Cup with Portugal, amassing the highest number of shots in the competition (22 in just three appearances, or 7.3 per game) with only one goal to show for it in an ultimately meaningless win against Ghana in the final game of the group. After his heroics in qualifying for the competition, Ronaldo was always going to have a difficult time lifting this otherwise average Portugal side to particularly great heights in Brazil, especially in such a difficult group.
(Statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com.)