5 World Cup records that could be broken in Russia

They say records are meant to be broken and it holds true at every edition of football's grandest extravaganza.

Football's biggest extravaganza is knocking on the door as the world gets ready to celebrate in Russia. With every FIFA World Cup there comes a lot of emotion among players and fans. While some finish the campaign on a high, others lay on the field in agony. It is a stage where a player can turn into a national hero or end up as a villain because its national pride at stake.

In the past, great players have set quite high standards with some astonishing records and. So, we take a look at the five records that could be broken in Russia this summer..

5. The first player to score five or more goals in three World Cups

Thomas Muller looks to turn on his beast mode whenever the World Cup approaches and just like the past two events, the Bavarian forward will look to add another feather to his cap by scoring five goals this time in Russia.

If he does so, he will become the first player to score five goals in consecutive three World Cups. The current record is held by Teofilo Cubillas (1970 and 1978) from Peru and Miroslav Klose (2002 and 2006) from Germany. With Muller's attacking prowess and positional sense the feat looks quite achievable this summer.

He has scored five goals in each of the World Cup he played in.

4. Oldest player to feature in a FIFA World Cup

With all the emotions related to Egypt's qualification to the FIFA World Cup after 28 years, there lies another inspiring story in their midst. Goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary is set to become the oldest player to feature in a FIFA World Cup at the age of 45.

The current record is set by Faryd Mondragon of Colombia who made an appearance at the age of 43 years 3 days old, eclipsing Cameroonian legend Roger Milla's previous feat.

3. Confederations Cup and World Cup jinx

The Confederations Cup which was held in Russia last year was won by a young German side as Joachim Low decided to rest his senior players and went with a whole bunch of youngsters. Surprisingly, he guided his young team to victory as they lifted the title.

But, this age-old stat of not managing to win the World Cup after a triumphant Confederations Cup campaign is still a record broken by none. Brazil had a great chance last time out, but the Selecao couldn't achieve the feat. However, this time around the Germans will set their sights on retaining the most coveted trophy and will look to break the jinx by winning the World Cup and Confederations Cup in consecutive years.

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2. The first player to win the Golden Ball twice

With all the great legends performing at the mega event since ages it is hard to believe that no player has won the Golden Ball twice. Considering the quality of players in the past, it is certainly a feat very hard to achieve.

But, the little man from Rosario who won the coveted award in Brazil last time out can do it again here in Russia. People claim that Lionel Messi needs to win a World Cup to support his claim as the best player in the world. The Barcelona man did come close in Brazil until Mario Gotze ended his dream with a match-winning goal in the final. But, he was still in scintillating form throughout the tournament and won the Golden Ball . Now, there is absolutely no reason why he cannot win it again.

1. Most goals scored by a player

Its a dream for any player to leave a mark or make a valuable contribution in their country's triumph to win the great event. But, some of them leave an imprint on the history books by scoring the most number of goals and guiding their team to winning the most coveted trophy in football.

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Brazil legend Ronaldo set the record of 15 goals after his excellent form in the 2002 World Cup. It seemed like a feat that would never be broken by anyone, but German forward Miroslav Klose broke it by scoring against Brazil in the semi-finals in 2014 and ending up with 16 goals.

Now, it seems like Klose has just passed on the baton to the current German talisman Thomas Muller. The 28-year old will be looking to break eclipse the feat as he is only six goals away from the great achievement and its only a matter of time to see whether the boy from Bavaria can break the record in Russia.