Who will win the Golden Boot at the 2024 European Championship? As the tournament approaches, we’ve looked at the leading contenders to finish as top scorer at Euro 2024.
Romelu Lukaku – Belgium (16/1)
Romelu Lukaku’s ridiculous record for Belgium just keeps getting better. The 31-year-old scored 14 goals in qualification for the tournament, a new record that eclipsed the previous benchmark of 13 set by David Healy and Robert Lewandowski.
Lukaku has now scored 83 goals in 114 appearances for Belgium and is the eighth-highest-scoring player in the history of men’s international football. One more will see Lukaku move level with the iconic Ferenc Puskas and behind only Cristiano Ronaldo for goals for a European nation.
8 games ???? 14 goals
Romelu Lukaku breaking the record for the most goals in a single EURO qualifying campaign ⚽#EQtopscorer | @Alipay pic.twitter.com/AcdwZeka8f
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) November 24, 2023
He arrives into the tournament after a solid, if unspectacular, season on loan at Roma, in which he scored 21 goals in all competitions. Belgium, however, have a favourable group featuring Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine.
Jude Bellingham – England (16/1)
Ordinarily, a player with just three goals in 29 international appearances would not feature in the running for the Golden Boot. Jude Bellingham, however, is no ordinary player.
The 20-year-old has evolved into one of the best goalscoring midfielders in the game at Real Madrid this season, scoring 19 league goals during the club’s La Liga success. Named the Player of the Season in Spanish football this season, his rampaging performances are expected to provide Gareth Southgate with the template of how best to use him this summer. He will be key to England’s chances.
Bellingham’s 95th-minute equaliser ????#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/2Udowr54A4
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) March 28, 2024
Cristiano Ronaldo – Portugal (12/1)
Would this list be complete without Cristiano Ronaldo?
He might be 39 years old, but Ronaldo continues to shatter records. The Saudi Pro League Golden Boot was won with a record-breaking 35 goals in 31 games, while he netted 10 times in qualification as Portugal sealed their place at Euro 2024 with a flawless record.
Ronaldo is the leading scorer in European Championship history (14) and can become the first player in history to play and score in six editions of the tournament this summer, having made his debut in the competition two decades ago.
It would be a huge surprise if his record-breaking 128 international goals are not added to in Germany.
Harry Kane – England (11/2)
Harry Kane is the second-favourite to win the Golden Boot as the England captain looks to add the European Championship’s top-scorer accolade to his World Cup award won in 2018.
Kane became just the second Englishman to win a World Cup Golden Boot six years ago and he can match Alan Shearer (1996) as the only player to win a European Championship version while representing the Three Lions.
Kane races clear ⚽️#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/GD2KjFY4O2
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) October 19, 2023
Though team honours were frustratingly elusive, the 30-year-old’s campaign could hardly have gone better on an individual level, with a career-best 44 goals in all competitions. He scored 36 times in the Bundesliga – only Robert Lewandowski and Gerd Muller have ever scored more in a single season – to win the European Golden Shoe for the first time.
Kylian Mbappe – France (7/2)
Kylian Mbappe’s spectacular performances took France within a penalty shootout of successive World Cup wins in Qatar 18 months ago, and he will again be at the forefront of the French challenge.
Mbappe scored eight goals to win the World Cup Golden Boot, including a hat-trick in the final defeat to Argentina.
Mbappé ????????#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/kXnf968Gtk
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) January 17, 2024
With Ligue 1’s leading scorer accolade tucked away for the sixth straight season, the 25-year-old will want to atone for a poor performance at Euro 2020, where he failed to score in four appearances.
Read – Euro 2000 – Zidane’s zenith as France reign supreme
See more – Euro 2004 – Charisteas completes Greek miracle in Lisbon
