And then there were four. Euro 2024 is two games away from crowning the latest European champions, but the tournament has seen its fair share of collective and individual brilliance along the way.
Four players have emerged as the frontrunners for the tournament’s Golden Boot Award: Slovakia’s Ivan Shranz, Georgia’s Georges Mikautadze, Germany’s Jamal Musiala, and the Netherlands’ Cody Gakpo, all with three goals to their name. However, only Gakpo can increase his goal tally at this tournament stage, given that Slovakia, Germany, and Georgia have already been sent home packing.
SBOTOP highlights Cody Gakpo’s brilliance as he leads the pack to Euro 2024’s Golden Boot Award. We’ll also highlight Shranz, Mikautadze, and Musiala as the other top goal scorers in the tournament thus far.
Cody Gakpo
Gakpo’s right foot dominated the tournament and gave the fans a couple of unforgettable Euro 2024 highlights. Leading the way for Oranje, the Liverpool forward has been carrying his nation on his back and, at times, singlehandedly winning games for the Dutch side.
He’s been a manager’s dream throughout the tournament, showing not just the ability to find the back of the net but also doing so efficiently. Gakpo has attempted 12 shots; only three were off target, while just one attempt has been blocked. On eight attempts on target, three found the back of the net.
Moreover, Gakpo once led the Golden Boot race when it seemed like he notched his fourth goal against Turkey, but UEFA later deemed it a Mert Muldur’s own goal, forcing Gakpo to remain in a four-way tie with Jamal Musiala, Georges Mikautadze, and Ivan Schranz.
With Slovakia, Germany, and Georgia eliminated, Gakpo is not the Euro 2024 odds favourite to win the Golden Boot in Germany.
The 25-year-old has emerged as Oranje’s leading man in the tournament and will likely lean on his brilliance against England in their upcoming semifinal clash.
Jamal Musiala
Musiala was the host nation’s golden boy, leading Germany to the quarterfinals with the same talent he’s shown all season long with his domestic club, Bayern Munich.
Unfortunately for the home crowd, Germany fell short against the still-undefeated Spanish side in the quarterfinals, ending their Euro 2024 dreams in MHPArena.
However, Germany’s shortcomings didn’t blemish Musiala’s stellar showing at all. The budding 21-year-old finished his campaign with three goals and one assist, capturing the hearts of his compatriots and pundits worldwide.
He’s been one of the tournament’s standouts. His quarterfinal-clinching goal against Denmark in the Round of 16 and brilliance throughout the group stages cemented his stardom on the international stage.
Georges Mikautadze
Despite Georgia’s Round of 16 exit, Mikautadze still made a mark in Germany, thanks to his canon of a right foot. Opposing fans can only hope and pray that divine intervention will force a miss whenever Mikautadze strikes the ball.
The Metz forward only needed a little time with the ball to make significant contributions. Mikautadze only had three shots on target for the competition, and all those attempts found the back of the net.
With a 100 per cent success rate whenever on target, Mikautadze became one of the most feared forwards in Germany.
Ivan Schranz
Slovakia’s Ivan Schranz arguably had the best start in the entire tournament. He was the most reliable player for Francesco Calzona and the fan favourite for most during the group stage.
Schranz scored all but one of Slovakia’s goals in Euro 2024, magnifying his importance to their nation’s success. However, their Cinderella run was cut short, thanks to the late-game heroics of England’s Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, who have scored two goals each thus far.
One could only imagine how many more goals Schranz could’ve tallied if they had advanced further into the tournament, but the fact that he’s still a frontrunner for the Golden Boot despite their Round-of-16 exit just shows how potent he can be offensively.
Dark Horses
As it stands, 11 players are tied with two goals apiece, namely Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Razvan Marin, Breel Embolo, Florian Wirtz, Merih Demiral, Niclas Füllkrug, Donyell Malen, Kai Havertz, Fabián Ruiz, and Dani Olmo.
However, among these studs, only Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Dani Olmo, Fabián Ruiz, and Donyell Malen are still in the tournament and can increase their goal tally in hopes of clinching the Golden Boot.
The race is still fairly open, but Cody Gakpo is currently sitting mightily at the summit.
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