The European Championships begin on Friday when Germany kick-off against Scotland and the race for this summer’s Golden Boot will be fiercely contested
A summer of major tournament football is upon us, which of course means the onset of Very Bad Football Predictions™. Who will win? Who will crash out? Who will return home a hero and who will return a farce?
And then there’s the matter of the Golden Boot. Who will hoist that beauty into the German sky this summer?
The list of contenders is both familiar and curious, testament to a tournament that feels both inevitable in its ending yet totally unpredictable in its conclusion, provoked by the sheer amount of football that is set to bombard our lives over the next month.
Below, the Mirror runs through the top 10 contenders for the Euro 2024 Golden Boot.
Kylian Mbappe
The favourite with the bookies and social media. Mbappe, fresh off signing for Real Madrid, is all summer vibes, the usual drama that accompanies the French phenom’s forays onto the biggest stages now officially out of sight and out of mind.
There has gurgled some worry that Mbappe might be carrying a back injury. Yet, the former PSG star also carries with him the Golden Boot from Qatar. And having become only the second person in history to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, it’s not difficult to imagine Mbappe is on a mission to eclipse that audacious feat this summer.
Les Bleus are tipped as one of the favourites for the tournament, and Mbappe will have plenty of supply lines to . Which is a terrifying prospect for any opposition defenders out there.
Harry Kane
England’s all-time top scorer also has a Golden Boot to his name, having scored six goals at the 2018 World Cup and rightfully seizing the laurel. Kane will once again spearhead England’s attack, arguably the strongest at the tournament when considering the individual quality manager Gareth Southgate has at his disposal.
A favourable group stage draw will provide ample opportunity for that attack to gel and revel. Penalties will also be his domain.
This season, Kane has shattered records with Bayern Munich, having scored 36 goals in 32 Bundesliga appearances. That tally lifts to 44 across all competitions. All of which means Kane is in his ultimate comfort zone out in Germany.
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Cristiano Ronaldo
You can’t really have this discussion without the greatest goalscorer in history. The reigning European Golden Boot winner might be spending most of his football smashing shots into less prestigious goals in Saudi Arabia, but that doesn’t mean the threat he poses in front of goal is any less lethal, nor the confidence any less confident.
Ronaldo boasts a staggering 128 international goals, and in Portugal’s qualifying campaign was often selected to lead the line ahead of Goncalo Ramos. This is likely his last Euros, meaning Ronaldo has a Last Dance halo cavorting around him, plus plenty of #Haters to disavow again.
Romelu Lukaku
The Belgian cut an emotional figure after the Qatar World Cup, an exhibition defined by the not-fully-fit Chelsea forward’s determination to spurn chance after chance. After crashing out of the group stages, Lukaku voiced his despair at doing so, declaring that he “let his country down”.
The next four weeks offer a shot at redemption. In 2023, the Belgian striker scored 15 times in nine international matches. His overall record now reads a quite ludicrous 85 in 115 caps. A lot of pressure remains on Kevin De Bruyne to be the creative force behind Lukaku, while Arsenal ’s Leandro Trossard and Manchester City ’s Jeremy Doku will need to provide from the flanks.
Dusan Vlahovic
A dark horse but a good one. Google the Serbian’s name and YouTube will shout at you that Vlahovic is a ‘LETHAL goalscorer’ courtesy of a series of videos posted in recent weeks, after a rampaging season in Serie A from the 24-year-old.
Vlahovic managed an impressive 16 goals across 33 league appearances. His national team return is similarly laudable: 13 goals in 27 appearances, just under a goal in every two games.
Serbia will need to be sharp and clinical if they are to get out of the groups. Vlahovic will be hugely important in that.
Jude Bellingham
Of course Bellingham is on this list. Have you seen this man lately? He’s a Golden Boot waiting to happen. Since moving to giants Real Madrid in the summer, the 20-year-old has played further forward under Carlo Ancelotti’s aegis, resulting in 19 goals in 28 La Liga appearances.
How much of a threat Bellingham poses will largely depend on whether Southgate follows the same mould as Ancelotti, or if tactical necessities forced Bellingham into a deeper role. Even so, Bellingham’s rise has been meteoric. The summer should be no different.
Kai Havertz
After standing with the MOTM award as Germany whirred up their plane for their premature departure from Qatar, Havertz and his German teammates have plenty to prove to the wider footballing world at a home tournament.
The Germans aren’t favourites, but Havertz could play a crucial role in turning that narrative on its head. The 25-year-old ended his season on a relative high with Arsenal, having scored nine goals in 14 league appearances. He has a history in scoring in big games. What’s bigger than a Euros on home soil?
Rasmus Højlund
The Manchester United forward perhaps doesn’t get the recognition he should for an injury-hit first season, which is why we’re including him in this list.
The 21-year-old managed 16 goals across all competitions, including five in the team’s disastrous Champions League campaign. For Denmark, Højlund was equally instrumental, having scored seven goals in eight games as the Danes qualified top of their group.
The signs look good for a big summer.
Dominik Szoboszlai
Hear us out. Yes, the Liverpool midfielder managed just three Premier League goals this season but the Hungary Szoboszlai is a different player than the Reds one. With the Magyars, Szoboszlai is the centre of attack, having scored six goals in his last 12 matches while at the heart of a high-scoring Hungarian side. Set-pieces are his domain and he’s not afraid to take shots from deep, a sight often rewarded on these stages.
Whether Hungary can keep up their goalscoring exploits in a group which features Scotland, Germany and Switzerland remains to be seen. But if they do, Szoboszlai will have a role to play in it.
Alvaro Morata
For Spain, Morata remains the default frontman and opinion remains sharply divided on the calibre of the Atletico Madrid forward to do the job. Morata’s reliability isn’t renowned in and around the 18-yard box. At Euro 2020, he missed six big chances, as defined by Opta.
Yet, Morata continually gets himself into good positions and with Spain drawn into a tricky group, they will need Morata to step up if they are to reach the competition’s latter stages.
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