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YOKOHAMA, Japan, Sunday (AFP)

Brazilian star Rivaldo will be in good company if he can score and conjure a win in next Wednesday's World Cup semi-final against Turkey and then net again in the final.

The 30-year-old Barcelona star has scored in all five of his side's matches so far and should he manage to score in every game in the tournament he would join Alcides Ghiggia of Uruguay and fellow Brazilian Jairzinho in achieving the feat.

Rivaldo for now insists the thought isn't preying particularly on his mind - but such has been his form over the past three weeks that few would bet against him coming up with the goods and lifting the Golden Boot award for the tournament's top scorer.

If Jairzinho helped to land Brazil's third triumph in the best team of all time in 1970, scoring in a rampaging 4-1 win over Italy, Ghiggia was one of the men who broke Brazilian hearts in the 1950 final in Rio's Maracana Stadium, where Uruguay shocked their hosts 2-1.

Jairzinho set off on his goalscoring run with a double against Czechoslovakia and carried on with further efforts against England, Romania, Peru, Uruguay and Italy. Rivaldo's victims to date read Turkey, China, Costa Rica, Belgium and England.

But he claims to be indifferent to his own exploits.

"I don't think about being a goalscorer. Basically, it doesn't interest me. It's nice to score, of course, but I don't go round thinking about this," said Rivaldo.

Rivaldo's overall World Cup tally is eight goals, having notched three in Brazil's run to the final in France 98.

His form here is all the more surprising in that Rivaldo came to the event on the back of several weeks out on the sidelines following an injury to his right ankle.

An added complication came when Barcelona medical staff travelled to Brazil to monitor his convalescence and opined that Rivaldo was not fit enough to play in the finals.

Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari maitained he was confident that Rivaldo was fit enough to take to the World Cup and his optimism has been justified.

Strike partner Ronaldo was in a similar position following his knee problems - but he too has come up with five goals - although a thigh muscle injury forced him to go off before he could kepe his goal-a-game run going against England last Friday.

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