Euro 2020 Top Scorers: Euro 2020 defending champions Portugal kicked off their Euro 2020 defence with a 3-0 win over Hungary on Tuesday as captain Cristiano Ronaldo made history at the Puskas Arena.
Ronaldo became the first man to play in five European Championship tournaments, and his two goals in the victory took him to 11 — the most scored in the tournament’s history.
In the other Group F match, World champions France started their Euro 2020 campaign with a win over Germany thanks to a Mats Hummels’ own goal in a high-quality heavyweight encounter.
1. Romelu Lukaku (Belgium)- 2
This will be the first time in the 60 years history of the tournament that European Championship will be played in multiple cities. Along with the defending champions Portugal, 24 best teams of Europe will be seen in action from 11th June at 12.30 IST.
Euro 2020 Top Scorers: A brief history
Astonishingly, six players were tied for the individual award in 2012 as all of Ronaldo, Fernando Torres, Mario Balotelli, Mario Gomez, Mario Mandzukic and Alan Dzagoev netted three goals each. David Villa (4) earned the coveted prize during the 2008 edition, when Spain initiated their dominance at international level.
As you would expect, there are several players raring to go down in Euro folklore by winning the individual honour at Euro 2020.
Who will etch their name into the record books this summer? In this segment we try to profile the five best contenders for the Golden Boot award at Euro 2020.
Euro 2020 Top Scorers: Top 5 contenders for Golden Boot
Euro 2020 Golden Boot: #1 Harry Kane (England)
The England captain, who won the golden boot at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, is in sparkling form ahead of the Euros. During the recently-concluded season with Tottenham Hotspur in England, Kane netted 33 goals across all competitions.
Additionally, the 27-year-old also won the Premier League’s Golden Boot after finding the back of the net on 23 occasions. Without the shadow of a doubt, Kane is easily one of the hot-picks to contest for the prestigious individual honour at Euro 2020. If he does what he does best, England could go all the way.
Euro 2020 Golden Boot: #2 Kylian Mbappe – France
The 22-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise in world football over the last few years. Mbappe was instrumental in helping France lift the 2018 World Cup in Russia and will be determined to taste silverware in his first Euro Championship.
Although Paris Saint-Germain missed out on Ligue 1 and the Champions League last season, Mbappe’s numbers have been sensational. The forward netted 42 goals across all competitions and averaged a goal every 89 minutes. France have an embarrassment of riches in their squad, but Mbappe remains the crown jewel.
Euro 2020 Golden Boot: #3 Cristiano Ronaldo – Portugal
Rule him out? No chance. Time and again, Ronaldo has proved why he is quite simply the man for the big occasion. Even if the first silverware at international level came late in his career, there is no denying his goal-scoring ability for Portugal.
The 36-year-old equalled Michel Platini’s record for most number of goals at European Championship in the last edition and will be desperate to go further this time around. At club level, Ronaldo endured disappointment with Juventus in terms of trophies but he still topped the scoring charts in Serie A with 29 goals (36 in all competitions). Portugal will be counting on their star man to deliver, yet again.
Euro 2020 Golden Boot: #4 Romelu Lukaku – Belgium
The Inter marksman has grown in stature since his move to Italy. Lukaku finished only behind Ronaldo in the race for the golden boot in Serie A and was influential in helping his team lift the league title after a decade-long drought.
Nobody has scored more goals for Belgium than Lukaku either. Considering the Red Devils are one of the favourites to go deep, if not win the tournament, Lukaku has a strong chance of battling it out for the individual honour. The 28-year-old is also expected to benefit from the creativity of the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Youri Tielemans behind him.
Euro 2020 Golden Boot: #5 Robert Lewandowski – Poland
There are significant doubts surrounding the abilities of Poland to leave a lasting impression at the Euros this summer. However, there are none when it comes to the goal-scoring ability of Lewandowksi.
As obvious as it sounds, the nation will have to rely extensively on his attacking prowess to try and drag them forward in the tournament. It is a testament to his explosive form as well, the Bayern Munich striker netted 41 goals in 29 games in the Bundesliga last season. Essentially, that means he scores a goal at every hour of playing time in the German top-flight. Astonishing, scary, call it whatever you want!