The European Championship is one of the two prestige international soccer tournaments. The players who represent their country on this stage represent the absolute elite of their sport.
These are men who want to secure glory for their nations but also for themselves. For the strikers in the tournament that means going for the double whammy of the championship trophy and the Golden Boot award.
That is the prize that is given to the player who scores the most goals during the tournament. It is something that can burnish the reputation of any striker as well as increasing his value in the marketplace.
Speculation about who will win it is nearly as intense as for the main event and fans bet on the winner using the Euro 2024 top scorer odds. So which players are potential Golden Boot winners in Germany this summer?
Kylian Mbappe
Mbappe is the man that is most fancied by the betting sites to claim the most goals at Euro 2024. He will be leading the line for a French team that is a potential tournament winner and there is little argument that he is among the deadliest finishers in the world.
He was in excellent form during the qualifying campaign, netting nine goals in eight games. That will be welcome news for fans of France, because he – like his country as a whole – was a big disappointment at this tournament four years ago.
His most memorable moment at Euro 2020 was missing a penalty in the shootout defeat to Switzerland. That is water under the bridge, but rumors of a switch from Paris St Germain may be on his mind as a distraction.
They could just as easily be a motivator to produce the goods though. Mbappe is not just a scorer though. He assisted in six of France’s qualifying goals, demonstrating his importance in linking up play between midfield and attack.
Harry Kane
England star Kane is another player who is viewed as a strong contender for the Golden Boot. He has already won this award for the World Cup and is now 30-years-old, but the move to Bayern Munich last summer did nothing to affect his ruthlessness in front of goal.
His is the Bundesliga’s leading scorer for the season and scored eight goals in as many games for England during their qualifying campaign. It could be argued that Kane will be more bothered about picking up the European Championship trophy at this point, but as a pure finisher, he can best do that by netting as many goals as possible.
Romelu Lukaku
Lukaku is another striker is now 31 and players in that position do not tend to improve with age. He made his debut for Belgium back in 2010 and has been a mainstay of the team ever since – part its so-called ‘golden generation’ of players.
Like those of England, they have not delivered the trophy success that the nation hoped for. Lukaku certainly has an impressive international record, with 114 goals in 83 appearances for his country, but has sometimes come up short in the most important matches.
He was in tremendous form as Belgium stormed their qualifying group though, with the stats showing that he netted 15 goals in eight appearances. This tournament is probably the last chance he has to taste glory with Belgium and to prove that he is one of the very best, so the motivation must be there.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Lukaku and Kane might seem as if age is against them, but what about 39-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo? For him to win the Golden Boot at that age would mark another amazing milestone in a career that has been studded with them, but we should never rule out Ronaldo.
He defied age to score 10 goals in nine appearances for Portugal during the qualifying campaign. So putting him on this list has nothing to do with sentiment.
What makes Ronaldo different is that he can create a goal for himself out of nothing. By comparison Kane is a straight penalty box finisher and Lukaku’s non-scoring strengths lie in holding the ball up.
That means he can still score even if he no longer possesses the pace that he had in his prime. He had a great season for Al Nassr at club level, with 37 goals from 45 games, but that is not top-level football.
Since making his debut for Portugal in 2003 he has scored 128 times and led his side to Euro 2016 glory. Ronaldo is still essential to the squad at an age when most strikers have retired, but will he write one last incredible chapter?
Watching to see which striker grabs the glory will be a fascinating aspect of this tournament.
