The race for the top goalscorer award, with just the final left to play, has barely garnered any real hype despite the number of players that can still claim the award. It probably stems from the widespread disappointment with striker performances at this tournament, with many completely underwhelmed by the showings. The more elite goalscorers, who were expected to dominate the tournament, have failed to light it up. Fatigue has been blamed by some for the dire showings thus far, but many others disagree. It is, after all, not the first time we are seeing stars fail to shine at a tournament. If anything, it is considered par for the course. Some big names will definitely flop at international tournaments. **THROWBACK TO 2012** This summer’s European Championships are reminiscent of the 2012 tournament, which Spain won, with the highest individual tally being 3 goals. That tournament also saw a lot of talk about fatigue and dire performances. It was perhaps fitting that the top scorer ended up being Fernando Torres, a guy who played only 189 minutes all tournament. He would come on in the final and sneak a goal in the 84th minute to snatch it from Mario Gomez. Interestingly, 6 players finished level on goals; Fernando Torres, Mario Gómez, Alan Dzagoev, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mario Mandžukić and Mario Balotelli. Based on the rules at the time,, the main tie-breaker was assists and then minutes played. Torres and Gómez both had one assist each, more than the other four managed. But since Torres played less minutes, he finished with the golden boot. If this happened now, all six would have shared the award. **UEFA’S LAST MINUTE RULE CHANGE** UEFA recently announced that they have changed the rules for awarding the golden boot. Rather than what they had been doing since 2012, when they introduced the tiebreakers, there would be no tiebreakers for the award this time. If two or more players finish level on goals, they would all share it. This new development means we could have as many as eight or even nine players sharing the award. 2000 was the last time players shared the award – Patrick Kluivert and Savo Milošević – while 1992 was the last time more than 2 players shared the award — Karl-Heinz Riedle, Henrik Larsen, Tomas Brolin, and Dennis Bergkamp. **THE FLOPS** Coming into the tournament, many people expected the golden boot race to involve the reigning World Cup golden boot winner, Kylian Mbappé; the reigning Euros golden boot winner, Cristiano Ronaldo; and Euro 2024 qualifiers top scorer, Romelu Lukaku. In fact, all three players were the top 3 scorers in the qualifiers. It was ultimately Mbappé who was the bookies’ favourite to win the award, despite registering 0 goals in the previous tournament back in 2021. Mbappé was coming off a season in which he scored 44 goals for PSG, winning the golden boot in all three competitions he participated in — Ligue 1, the UEFA Champions League and the Coupe de France. He even produced a brace in the pre-tournament friendly he started against Luxembourg. In the end, all three players ended up producing a combined 0 goals from open play, with Mbappe only able to score a penalty against Poland. Another established star that came in with one of the best odds was Robert Lewandowski, who only managed a goal via a penalty against France. The only other pre-tournament favourite still in the race is Harry Kane, who came into the tournament off the back of a 44-goal season, with the European Golden Shoe, Bundesliga Kicker-Torjägerkanone and UEFA Champions League golden boot in the bag.
**THE ELIMINATED CONTENDERS** As the favourites for the award faltered and flopped, other mostly long-shot names registered their excellence in the tournament to remain in the golden boot race. Some of these players are already eliminated but remain in contention for the award, should no one go beyond the tally of 3 goals by the end of the final. Slovakia’s Ivan Schranz had only scored 3 goals for his country before the start of the tournament. With just 8 goals in 32 games last season in the Czechia top division for Slavia Prague, hardly anyone expected him to be in the running for the golden boot by the final day. Yet, he proved to be an asset in front of goal, netting in 3 different games to drive his country forward. His goal against England would have knocked out the eventual finalists if Jude Bellingham didn’t produce the unthinkable with merely seconds to go. Georgia’s Georges Mikautadze also produced 3 goals before bowing out against Spain in the second round. He scored in all group stage games, although two of those goals were from the penalty spot, as debutants Georgia shocked the world. Mikautadze had a brilliant season with Metz in France, so it was no surprise that he was one of the players to light up the competition. He is now on his way to Monaco to sign for them. Cody Gakpo emerged as one of the contenders for Player of the Tournament after some electric displays saw him score 3 goals in the Netherlands’ run to the semifinals. But he failed to score as England eliminated his country, bowing out with his tally still 3. Many had expected Memphis Depay to be the talisman in the team, considering the fact that he is close to becoming the country’s all-time top scorer. But it was Gakpo who took charge to drive his country forward. Since he couldn’t add to his tally against England, he will have to wait and see if he did enough to claim a piece of the golden boot pie. A lot was expected of Jamal Musiala coming into the tournament. After all, he was one of the star players for the hosts, who came in looking very formidable. He went on to deliver some eye-catching performances, scoring in 3 games including the second-round game against Denmark to become Germany’s top scorer at the tournament. Elimination at the hands of Spain meant he could not add to his tally of 3, but he must be pleased that the golden boot remains possible with one game left.
**THE ACTIVE CONTENDERS** Any number of players taking part in the final can still win the golden boot, including the 9 players still on one goal. In fact, if someone with no goal so far scores a hattrick in the final, he could win the golden boot too. Having seen Mbappé do it in the 2022 World Cup final, that cannot be ruled out, however unlikely. That said, the two main active contenders are the players on 3 goals with the final left to play; Harry Kane and Dani Olmo, with bookies marginally tipping Kane for glory. A goal from either player eliminates the players who were knocked out before the final from contention. Olmo has benefitted from Pedri’s injury in the quarter finals against Germany. After not scoring in the group stage, where he played only 115 minutes, he has scored in every knockout game despite coming off the bench in 2 of the 3 games. His goal against France in the semifinals earned Spain their place in the final, and his red-hot form makes him a great option if you want to book a bet ahead of the final. Harry Kane, who won the World Cup golden boot in 2018, is no stranger to these races. After his impressive debut season at Bayern produced no trophies, he will be desperate to propel England to glory here. Winning the final would give him the first ever trophy of his professional career. Lifting the trophy as England captain gives him added incentive to be the difference for his team. The fact he is England’s designated penalty taker makes him a hotter choice than Olmo and the likelier of the two to get a goal in the final. Kane is priced at 3.30 to score anytime while “Olmo to score” is priced at 5.40. These are the best odds you can currently find for the goal markets on these players and why many bettors consider us to be the best betting site in Nigeria.
Beyond these two, there are two players with a chance to join the 3 Goals brigade. Still on two goals, Jude Bellingham and Fabian Ruiz can add to the number of players tied for the golden boot. Should both score, and no one else, the golden boot would be shared by 8 players. BetKing has Fabian Ruiz to score anytime at 7.80 odds, while Bellingham to score is 5.80 odds. Bellingham is on the brink of sealing the Ballon d’Or. Nothing would seal it better than a goal in the final, especially after he failed to score in the Champions League final. Many popular tipsters, who are giving out free betting tips, have tried to make predictions for the final. Most are going for the fulltime prediction. Despite the game being expected to be a tight affair, the big takeaway is that it will see at least a goal. That makes the goal markets very tasty, with the “anytime goalscorer” market a smart choice for a Bet Builder. Time to take advantage of the expert betting tips and close out Euro 2024 with a bang! [Sign up with us now ](https://m.betking.com/account/registration) and enjoy the huge online betting odds available for you in the EURO 2024 final!