Euro 2024: Dark Horses for the Golden Boot

The European Championships will host a plethora of talented forwards this summer, who will undoubtedly be trying to succeed individually and collectively.

For the tournament front-runners such as England and France, they will be hoping for the likes of Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe to spearhead them to success this summer.

These types of tournaments do provide an opportunity for essentially lesser-known individuals to stake their claim and provide fans with a glimpse of what they could potentially offer as players make a name for themselves.

The Golden Boot for this tournament has provided some surprise winners in the past. Euro 2000 saw Serbian striker Saso Milosevic become a joint winner with former Barcelona striker Patrick Kluivert.

Merely four years later with Greece’s unlikely triumph, former Liverpool striker Milan Baros scored five goals for the Czech Republic to walk away with the coveted award.

Could this year provide another surprise winner? Look at our outside chances for the Golden Boot for Euro 2024:

This might be the most controversial choice on our list for the Golden Boot this summer. Marcus Rashford’s form this season, you could most certainly argue, doesn’t warrant a place in the squad this summer, let alone starting in Gareth Southgate’s line-up.

The forward who contributed 30 goals last season, was undoubtedly in the form of his life and this season along with the overall team, the Manchester United player has struggled for consistency and along with off-the-field incidents, has cast major doubts he will be on the plane to Germany this season.

However, it should be noted, that if Rashford were to find form towards the end of the season, he could play his way into Southgate’s plans this summer. Rashford when used effectively, can be a vital asset to Southgate’s side.

In the World Cup in Qatar, Rashford was riding a wave of momentum heading into the tournament for his club. Rashford was used sparingly during the World Cup that summer but still managed three goals in five games, mostly appearing from the bench. This included a brace against Wales in the final group game.

With the squads set to be extended to 26 to cover injury basis, this could provide Rashford an unlikely route back into the England squad.

Germany has usually relied on the likes of Miroslav Klose and Thomas Muller in the goalscoring department and this summer they will be hoping to find the next forward who will provide a similar effect to legends past.

Whilst Thomas Muller will more than likely be fielding his last tournament and Kai Havertz having his most productive season in England as of late, we are selecting Niclas Füllkrug to potentially be a dark horse for Germany and the Golden Boot.

Füllkrug was signed by Borussia Dortmund in the summer, following a productive season for Werder Bremen in which he scored 16 goals in the Bundesliga.

The 31-year-old has been in tremendous form for his new club this season, contributing 26 goals in 39 games across the Bundesliga and the UEFA Champions League. Füllkrug scored the only goal in Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 win over Paris Saint Germain in midweek.

For his national side, Füllkrug played in the World Cup in Qatar and scored twice in three games, as Germany was eliminated in the group stages.

Belgium will enter this tournament which will see some of their “Golden Generation” potentially play their last international tournament together. Romelu Lukaku is touted as one of the contenders for the Golden Boot on @22/1, however, his fellow compatriot Lois Openda is chosen on our list of potential outsiders to win the Golden Boot.

Openda joined RB Leipzig from RC Lens last summer, after a campaign in which he scored 21 goals in 38 league games for the French side. This season, the Belgian International has been superb in front of goal and has contributed to RB Leipzig once again qualifying for the UEFA Champions League next season.

Openda has 31 goal contributions from 31 Bundesliga appearances this season and has four goals in eight games in this season’s UEFA Champions League.

The Czech Republic most notably boasted the likes of Jan Koller and as mentioned former Liverpool striker and Golden Boot winner Milan Baros in previous years. One player who could easily follow in Baros’ footsteps is Bayer Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick.

The former Roma striker’s contributions this season have been below average in the fact he only has five goals in 17 Bundesliga games this campaign. For his country though, Schick has a rather impressive 18 goals in 37 games, which works out at roughly a goal every two games for his national side.

Schick is arguably the best-performing striker on this list when it comes to the European Championships. In the previous tournament, the Leverkusen striker scored five goals which earned him the Silver Boot behind Cristiano Ronaldo who also had an equal goal tally. Schick lost out on the Golden Boot because Ronaldo had one more assist than the Czech International.

Denmark was brilliant in the last European Championships, reaching the semi-final where they were eliminated by one of the principal hosts England. Rasmus Hojlund will be embarking on his first tournament this summer and could have a huge impact on Denmark’s chances this summer.

We have decided to look at his international teammate Kasper Dolberg. Dolberg is currently at Anderlecht where he has 17 goal contributions in 35 games for the Belgian side. The Danish International is currently enjoying his most productive spell for at least four seasons when he posted 11 goals in Ligue 1 for Greece.

Dolberg was an important part of Denmark’s run to the semi-final in the last European Championships. The 26-year-old replaced the injured Yussuf Poulsen in the round of 16 tie against Wales and scored a brace. He followed this up with a goal against the Czech Republic in the quarter-final. Dolberg ended the tournament with three goals in four games.