What do Alan Shearer, Milan Baros and Cristiano Ronaldo have in common? All of them are winners of the Euro Cup Golden Boot.
The fact that none of the three mentioned won the competition the year in which they topped the scoring table shows that winning the Golden Boot in a tournament like this does not guarantee the success of your team, but it certainly does not hinder the options of glory of your country.
At Euro 2024 this summer, some of the best forwards in the world will compete for the award, hoping that their accuracy in front of the opposition’s goal can lead their country to glory.
These are the favorites for the Euro 2024 Golden Boot:
Having capped his extraordinary debut season at Real Madrid with the Champions League title, English fans are praying that Jude Bellingham can pack his incredible performances before leaving for Germany this summer.
The midfielder, who will likely act as number 10 for the Three Lionsis among the bookmakers’ favorites to win the Golden Boot despite not playing as a center forward.
The fact that Bellingham has only scored three goals for his country to date suggests this may be a bit illusory, but his strong form and technical brilliance make it difficult to bet against him.
At Euro 2020, England suffered a tough setback in the final at Wembley, but at the 2022 World Cup, held in Qatar, he scored a goal and provided an assist.
Despite regularly receiving criticism for his technical ability, Romelu Lukaku has never had a problem putting the ball in Belgium’s goal. Well, maybe a little during his 2022 World Cup appearances, but overall he’s relentless.
He has scored more than 80 goals for Belgium throughout his prolific international career, often finding himself in the right place at the right time. Of course, it helps to have Kevin De Bruyne conjuring up every chance.
Their record in qualifying for Euro 2024 was truly astonishing. He scored 14 goals in just eight games, a new record for a European Championship qualifying campaign. At Euro 2020, he also found the net regularly, scoring four goals in five games.
Belgium’s “golden generation” may be fading, but Lukaku is still a top machine.
Cristiano Ronaldo has already won the Golden Boot in the past. He won the award at Euro 2020 despite Portugal only reaching the round of 16, scoring five goals in four games. Patrik Schick also scored five in that tournament, but lost the award due to lack of assists.
As the top scorer in international football history, Cristiano is always capable of having a good run in a major tournament, even if his power is diminishing slightly at the age of 39.
In any case, Portugal has had a fairly discreet group in the Euro 2024, with the Czech Republic, Turkey and the debutant Georgia. If we add to this the presence of the creative wizards that surround Ronaldo in the Portuguese team, the former Real Madrid and Manchester United striker could come out on top.
Harry Kane has scored 63 goals in 91 appearances for England, but is yet to have a trophy. In fact, it was his missed penalty in the 2022 World Cup that cost him dearly, although he had provided one goal and three assists up to that point in Qatar.
He also bagged the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup with six goals in as many games – five of them in his first two games – and remains the first name on the England team sheet. That will not change in Germany.
After shining in the early stages of the past World Cups, it was in the latter part of Euro 2020 when Kane came to life. He scored four goals in the knockout stage after drawing a blank in the group stage, and broke his losing streak against Germany in the round of 16.
A similar spike would be welcome this time around.
If there is a striker who instills fear in rival defenders more than any other, it is Kylian Mbappé. The electric Frenchman missed the decisive penalty in Euro 2020 that led to France’s elimination in the round of 16 at the hands of Switzerland, but he more than made up for it with his performance in the 2022 World Cup.
Mbappe won the Golden Boot in Qatar with eight goals in seven games, surpassing eventual tournament winner Lionel Messi with a hat trick in the final loss to Argentina. If he achieves those numbers at Euro 2024, France will be unstoppable.
Now a Real Madrid player, it will be interesting to see how Didier Deschamps uses his prized asset. At 25 years old, he is best suited to the left wing and should play in that position, although he can also act as a number nine.
Wherever he plays, he scores goals, probably more than anyone else.
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