EURO 2024 Golden Boot
Who Will Be The Next EURO 2024 Golden Boot?
EURO 2024 Golden Boot, we evaluate the odds of the players hoping to top the goal scoring charts and win the Golden Boot as Euro 2024 gets coming this week.
Some of the best attackers in history, like Gerd Müller, Marco van Basten, Alan Shearer, and Fernando Torres, have had the distinction of taking home the Golden Boot in a European Championship.
The 17th edition of UEFA’s premier international event will take place in Germany, and the best players in Europe will compete to be the continent’s top striker from a mix of experienced greats and up-and-coming talent.
Can Kylian Mbappé or Harry Kane surpass the Portugal star, or can Cristiano Ronaldo make history by winning the Golden Boot for the first time in what will undoubtedly be his final big tournament?
We’ve evaluated the odds of the top candidates and selected a few possible outsiders as we continue to prepare for Euro 2024, considering the lessons that past Golden Boot winners may provide.
The Favourites
Kylian Mbappé
The captain of France, who scored eight goals to earn the Golden Boot when Les Bleus finished second in the 2022 World Cup, is once again one of the favourites to lead the goal scoring rankings.
Even though Mbappé has scored 12 goals in 14 World Cup games and appears certain to smash Miroslav Klose’s record of 16, he was scoreless in his lone prior European Championship, failing to score even on the game-winning penalty kick as France lost to Switzerland three years ago.
After a season in which Mbappé scored 44 goals in 47 games across all competitions—a total only equaled by Kane (44 in 45 matches) among players from Europe’s top five leagues—few would, however, anticipate a repetition.
Additionally, Mbappé scored nine goals in eight Euro 2024 qualifiers. However, Given Didier Deschamps’ plenty of attacking options and the possibility that Mbappé may play on the left flank, it’s possible that they will be somewhat less dependent on one star than other countries.
With 14 different players, excluding own goals, scoring at least once for France throughout qualification, they had the widest distribution of goal scorers of any team.
Austria and the Netherlands both let up just seven goals in eight qualifiers, while Poland gave up ten goals in their group matches; a tough Group D draw might also go against him. He will probably deliver some huge moments, though, if France wins outright.
Harry Kane
Many believe that while Bayern Munich gave up their Bundesliga title, Kane was let down by others around him, despite being the only player in Europe’s top five leagues to match Mbappé’s goal total in 2023–2024.
After experiencing his last heartbreak at Euro 2020, Kane will be eager to break his major prize curse in his home nation.
Kane holds the record for most goals scored by England in a major event (12 goals at the World Cup/Euros) ,with 63 goals altogether. Mbappé is the only player to match Kane’s return in the last three tournaments (the World Cup of 2018, the Euro 2020, and the World Cup of 2022).
In all seven of his starts during qualifying, he either scored or assisted (8 goals, 2 assists), and although he didn’t take home any hardware during his debut season in Germany, he broke records with an incredible individual effort.
Only Robert Lewandowski (41 in 2020–21) and Müller (40 in 1971–72, 38 in 1969–70) have ever scored more goals in a single season than him. With 36 goals in 32 games, he had the most productive debut campaign in Bundesliga history.
Kane should be able to gain some early momentum thanks to a favorable group-stage draw. While Slovenia is starting their first campaign since 2000, Serbia is competing in the Euros for the first time as a sovereign state.
Kane scored the game-winning goal against Denmark in the Euro 2020 semifinals, so there might be plenty of opportunities lost. Out of all the 12 teams who have played at least 20 games, their record in the Euros is the greatest, with an average of 2.79 goals per game (42 for, 50 against).
Cristiano Ronaldo
Portugal’s Euro 2020 campaign ended in a painful defeat to Belgium in the round of sixteen, but in just four games, Ronaldo produced enough to surpass Patrik Schick and win the Golden Boot with five goals and one assist.
This is, in many respects, Ronaldo’s rival. His statistics in the European Championship include the most goals (14), most games (25), and joint-most assists (6, beginning in 1972) as well as the most editions with at least one goal (5).
Since 1972, Ronaldo has been involved in twice as many goals as any other player in the Euros (20 goals, 6 assists), with Michel Platini coming in a distant second (10 goals, 9 assists).
But as everyone gets older, some have questioned the 39-year-old’s worth to the Seleção, especially after he moved from Manchester United to Al-Nassr following the 2022 World Cup.
Even though he may not be at the top of his game in Europe anymore, Ronaldo broke the record for most goals scored in a single season in Saudi Pro League in 2023–2024 by scoring 35 goals, which was more than his xG total of 30.68. Additionally, he scored ten goals in nine qualifiers.
Though there are still concerns about Ronaldo’s ability to operate in a cohesive off-the-ball framework, it is obvious that he will take advantage of opportunities when they present himself.
He also shouldn’t have to put up with poor service. Three Portuguese players were among the ten players in Europe’s top five leagues to produce the most open-play opportunities in 2023–24 (all competitions): Bruno Fernandes (ranked first with 111), Bernardo Silva (ranked eighth with 84), and Rafael Leão (tied for ninth with 82).
Romelu Lukaku
After breaking the record for most goals scored by Belgium in 2018, Lukaku currently stands at 85 goals in 115 appearances for the senior national team.
Eleven of his goals have come in big competitions (World Cup/Euros), although he struggled in Qatar eighteen months ago and has only scored twice for his nation in elimination matches.
He shouldn’t be disregarded in the Golden Boot competition in this year’s competition, either.
Lukaku broke the record for most goals scored in a single qualifying campaign with an incredible 14 goals in eight Euro 2024 qualifiers. He averaged a goal every 39 minutes and made nearly half of his shots (29), which accounted for 22 of Domenico Tedesco’s team’s goals, or 63.6% of the total.
Lukaku should be optimistic about a solid start because Belgium’s Group E opponents are Slovakia, Romania, and Ukraine. If Belgium wins their pool, the third-place finisher will go up.
He will receive assistance from some of the top innovators on the continent, much like Ronaldo.
Kevin De Bruyne has the most assists of any player in Europe since the start of the 2014 World Cup with nine at major events (5 at the Euros, 4 at the World Cups). In 2023–24, he topped all Premier League players in chances created (3.37) and anticipated assists (0.42 xA) per 90 minutes.
Euro 2024 Golden Boot In Summary
• The 17th edition of UEFA’s premier international event will take place in Germany, and the best players in Europe will compete to be the continent’s top striker.
• Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Romelu Lukaku are the favorites to win the Golden Boot.
• Mbappé scored eight goals to earn the Golden Boot when France finished second in the 2022 World Cup.
• Kane is the only player in Europe’s top five leagues to match Mbappé’s goal total in 2023-2024.
• Ronaldo is the all-time leading scorer in the European Championship with 14 goals.
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