Euro 2024 top scorer: Latest standings, predictions & favourites after Kylian Mbappe injury | OneFootball

The race for the Euro 2024 Golden Boot has begun.

So far no player has scored more than once. Kai Havertz and Jude Bellingham are the only players among the Euro 2024 Golden Boot favourites to find the net, although Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal are yet to play.

Check back here throughout the tournament to see who is leading the race for the Euro 2024 Golden Boot.

Euro 2024 Golden Boot favourites

Strong suggestions Kylian Mbappe will miss France’s group game vs Netherlands due to a broken nose have changed the complexion of the Euro 2024 Golden Boot race.

“Kylian Mbappé returns to the base camp of the French national team,” read a statement from France’s FA on Tuesday morning.

“Kylian Mbappé suffered a broken nose during the second part of the Austria-France held this Monday in Düsseldorf.

“The captain of France was treated first by the medical staff and Dr. Franck Le Gall, who diagnosed him with a nose fracture.

“Mbappé will receive treatment in the next few days, but he will not undergo surgery in the immediate future. A mask will be made for him so that the number 10 of the French national team can prepare for his return to the competition after a period dedicated to treatment.”

Teammate Adrien Rabiot told reporters Mbappe has said he could be ready for France’s final group game vs Poland.

So Mbappe’s odds have drifted slightly with some bookmakers and Harry Kane is now outright favourite to win the Euro 2024 Golden Boot.

Kane already won the European Golden Shoe for his club form with Bayern Munich, for whom he scored 36 goals in 32 Bundesliga games. He barely touched the ball vs Serbia but could have scored a header were it not for an outstanding reflex save from  Predrag Rajković.

England have another threat in the form of Jude Bellingham, who was La Liga’s third-highest goalscorer this season with 19 goals. His match-winner vs Serbia has seen him climb the bookies’ Euro 2024 Golden Boot favourites.

Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, was the winner at Euro 2020 and also scored 10 goals in qualifying. He might be 39 years old and playing in Saudi Arabia, but the five-time Ballon d’Or winner needs no second invitation on the big stage.

Romelu Lukaku was the top scorer during qualifying with 14 goals and will be vital to Belgium’s chances. However, poor finishing and bad luck saw him blank in Belgium’s defeat to Slovakia, in which VAR chalked off two Lukaku goals.

Key Players’ performances in the group stage

The group stage is where the big nations will lay down a marker at Euro 2024, signalling to the rest that they mean business. Groups B and D are particularly close to call, with the former containing Spain, Italy and Croatia — alongside Albania — while France and the Netherlands occupy the latter alongside dark horses Poland and Austria.

This is perhaps one reason why Cristiano Ronaldo is fancied by many. Portugal have one of the strongest attacks at the tournament and their favourable group contains Czechia, Turkey and Georgia.

Despite failing to score vs Serbia, Kane is another to keep an eye on, with his five-goal showing at the 2018 World Cup group stage en route to the Golden Boot still a fond memory for England fans.

Who will win the Euro 2024 Golden Boot?

As mentioned in the odds above, Mbappe, Kane, Ronaldo, Lukaku, Havertz and Bellingham are the big favourites for the Golden Boot. However, there are plenty of other contenders.

In Mbappe’s absence, France have the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud, who have great records at major tournaments and will be essential to their success. Spain’s greatest hope is captain Alvaro Morata, who has 35 goals in 72 caps to date having scored against Croatia in the Group B opener.

Euro 2024 Golden Boot tie-breaker

If there is more than one player with the same number of goals at the European Championships, the tie-breaker goes to the player who has contributed the most assists — a rule brought in for Euro 2008. If there is still more than one player level, the next tie-breaker is least minutes played.

For example, Cristiano Ronaldo and Patrik Schick both finished Euro 2020 on five goals, with Ronaldo taking the award thanks to posting one assist, while Schick didn’t manage any. At Euro 2012, Fernando Torres won the Golden Boot with three goals and an assist, which tied him with Germany’s Mario Gomez but with 93 minutes less played.

The Golden Boot is the award given to the tournament’s top goalscorer and there have been some illustrious winners down the years. From Cristiano Ronaldo to Marco van Basten, the list of European Championships Golden Boot winners is a who’s who of the game’s greatest.

As the number of games at the European Championships has increased, so has the benchmark for winning the Golden Boot. That said, Michel Platini still holds the record for most goals scored at a single tournament, netting nine times in just five matches as he led France to the trophy on home soil in 1984. Platini is one of seven players to win the European Championships Golden Boot on home soil in a list that also includes Alan Shearer (1996) and Patrick Kluivert (2000).

Cristiano Ronaldo is the top scorer in European Championships history, with 14 goals to date. That leaves him at least five clear of his nearest rival Platini, who scored all nine of his goals in one edition of the tournament. Alan Shearer and Antoine Griezmann are the next closest with seven goals each.