The iconic Henri Delaunay Trophy may be the ultimate prize at this summer’s European Championship, but for individual players there is also the chance to finish top scorer and take home the Golden Boot.
Gerd Muller, Marco van Basten, Alan Shearer and Fernando Torres are among those to have topped the scoring charts over the years.
So who will do so this time?
Romelu Lukaku (Belgium)
Romelu Lukaku will be well fancied by many after hitting 14 goals to break the scoring record for a single European Championship qualifying campaign.
The 31-year-old is Belgium’s all-time top scorer with 83 goals in 114 appearances and this summer’s Euros will be his sixth major tournament with the Red Devils.
He took home the Bronze Boot at the 2018 World Cup after scoring four times in seven appearances.
Robert Lewandowski (Poland)
Robert Lewandowski’s Poland broke Welsh hearts with a play-off victory on penalties to become one of the final sides to secure their place in Germany.
The 35-year-old certainly knows where the net is. He is Poland’s all-time top scorer with 82 goals in 148 appearances and has scored more than 600 times for club and country over his 19-year career.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Another player who needs no introduction. Footballing superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is showing little sign of slowing down even at the age of 39.
He is international football’s all-time top scorer with 128 goals for Portugal and the record appearance maker with 206 caps.
Harry Kane (England)
England’s all-time top scorer Harry Kane will again be central to their hopes of ending 58 years of hurt this summer.
The Three Lions captain goes into tournament off the back of a prolific first season with Bayern Munich, where he scored 45 goals in 45 games. Despite a successful campaign personally, Kane’s long wait for a first career honour goes on as Bayern ended the campaign trophyless
Kylian Mbappe (France)
Prolific France striker Kylian Mbappe is the bookies’ favourite to be top scorer at Euro 2024.
The 25-year-old has scored 46 goals in just 77 appearances for Les Bleus, who are aiming to lift the trophy for a third time after victories in 1984 and 2000.
Mbappe won the Golden Boot at the 2022 World Cup with eight goals – including a hat-trick in that epic final defeat by Argentina.
Rasmus Hojlund (Denmark)
Rasmus Hojlund is a rising star of Danish football who already looks at home on the international stage.
The 21-year-old scored a hat-trick on his international debut in a European qualifier against Finland in March 2023 and ended the campaign as their top scorer with seven goals in eight appearances.
Alvaro Morata (Spain)
As well as leading the line, Alvaro Morata will also captain Spain as they look to lift the trophy for a third time.
The experienced Atletico Madrid forward, who spent three years at Chelsea between 2017 and 2020, has scored 34 goals in 74 international appearances. No other player in Spain’s Euro 2024 squad has yet reached double figures.
Credit: www.bbc.com
