As one of the best World Cups in recent history winds down, the time to decide who will claim the prestigious Golden Ball, the award given to the tournament\u2019s best player, grows nearer.<\/p>\n
While recent history suggests the Golden Ball doesn’t necessarily need to come from the eventual World Cup champions \u2013 Brazil\u2019s Romario was the last to lift both trophies in 1994 \u2013 at least a semifinal spot is needed to be in the running.<\/p>\n
That likely means Colombia\u2019s James Rodriguez, the current favorite to win the Golden Boot with six goals, is out of contention. Brazil’s Neymar, whose participation sadly ended in the quarterfinal, should also be out of the running.<\/p>\n
The eventual winner could be decided by how the\u00a0Brazil vs. Germany<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Netherlands vs.\u00a0Argentina<\/a>\u00a0semifinals play out.\u00a0The performance of these three players, who are likely front-runners for the award, are particularly ones to watch out for.<\/p>\n[sc:MultiSportArticles ]\n The only criticism people had left to throw at Lionel Messi, the four-time FIFA World Player of the Year and three-time Champions League winner, was that he hadn\u2019t lifted his game to stratospheric levels for his country. But with his World Cup performance to date, those arguments are now invalid.<\/p>\n As Argentina\u2019s wealth of attacking talent has disappeared throughout the tournament, Messi has stepped up to almost single-handedly carry his country to the cusp of another World Cup triumph.<\/p>\n Messi scored in each of the three group stage games, the first two coming in the dying minutes against Bosnia & Herzegovina and Iran to fire Argentina to victory. And it was his key assist that released Angel di Maria, who scored the goal near the end of extra time to sink Switzerland.<\/p>\n Leading Argentina to the title reminiscent of the great Diego Maradona would ensure Messi another shiny piece of hardware. But even if they fall short of their ultimate goal, Messi may have done enough to grab that Golden Ball.<\/p>\n The Netherlands\u2019 unlikely run to a second straight World Cup semifinal can be attributed in large part to the brilliance of Arjen Robben,\u00a0the team’s co-leading scorer with three goals.\u00a0The 30-year old winger has thrived in Dutch coach Louis van Gaal\u2019s system, which has allowed him to use his exceptional speed to terrorize opposing defenders.<\/p>\nTop 3 Candidates for 2014 World Cup Golden Ball<\/h2>\n
Lionel Messi – Argentina<\/h3>\n
Arjen Robben – Netherlands<\/h3>\n