Euro 2020: Predicting the Best Player, Top Scorer & Winner

On Wednesday night, England face Denmark in the semi-finals of Euro 2020 at Wembley Stadium knowing that they will create history if they beat the Danes, having never been to the final of this competition before. If England are to win the final then they will have to beat one of Italy or Spain at Wembley, of which home advantage will give the Three Lions a massive boost.

Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the front runner for the Golden Boot at Euro 2020 having scored five goals and made an assist in four appearances at this summer’s championship, scoring braces against Hungary and France, as well as the opener in Portugal’s 4-2 group stage loss to Germany in Munich. The 36-year-old striker currently leads the likes of Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling by two goals each, the two England men are the most likely active challengers to the Juventus man.

If England win the Euros for the first time in their history this year with Ronaldo being the top scorer, then in all likelihood, Sterling will stand an incredible chance of winning the player of the tournament. The 26-year-old Manchester City winger has managed three vital goals and an assist in five matches, scoring two of them in 1-0 victories against Croatia and the Czech Republic, as well as the opener in the Three Lions’ momentous win against Germany in the round of 16, whilst creating the opening goal in England’s 4-0 thrashing of Ukraine.

Italy will take on Spain in the semi-finals of Euro 2020 at Wembley on Tuesday night, looking to make their first final in this competition since Euro 2012, where ironically, they were hammered 4-0 by Spain.

The Italians have looked like one of the standout sides in the tournament since matchday one when they beat Turkey 3-0 in Group A and have conceded just two goals in the whole competition so far, to Austria’s Sasa Kalajdzic and Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku.

Italy are known for being a team that can grind out results as they have shown in narrow victories against Wales 1-0, Austria 2-1 and Belgium 2-1. If they are to go on to win this tournament then they will likely have to do the same against Spain and most likely England if they make it to the final.

As mentioned above, the most likely candidates to stop Ronaldo from picking up the Golden Boot are Kane and Sterling, unless Italy’s Ciro Immobile can outscore the Portuguese striker by four goals, or manage three goals and another assist, as the Lazio man has two goals and one assist in four appearances at Euro 2020.

Italy’s Insigne has been one of Italy’s standout players at this year’s championship, having scored two goals in four appearances from left-wing, first doing so on matchday one against Turkey, before scoring a sensational solo goal against Belgium where the Napoli man picked up the ball on the halfway line before driving his way towards the edge of the box where he curled a stunning shot into the top right-hand corner past Thibaut Courtois.

If Insigne carries on goal contributions wise and Italy win Euro 2020, then there is a chance that the 30-year-old could win the best player of the tournament award.

As mentioned above, if England are to win the European Championship for the first time, then they will have to beat Denmark in the semi-finals, of which they are favourites to do so, before taking on one of Italy or Spain in the final at Wembley with home advantage, something that could spur the Three Lions on towards what would be a historical achievement.

Kane is also the most likely player to beat Ronaldo to the Golden Boot due to the fact that he is a striker that takes penalties and is in good form ahead of England’s clash against Denmark at Wembley on Wednesday night. The 27-year-old has scored three goals in his last two appearances for the Three Lions, scoring England’s second of the game in their 2-0 victory over Germany, as well as a brace as Gareth Southgate’s side thumped Ukraine 4-0 in the quarter-finals.

If Kane is to score the four goals or manage three goals and one assist to win the Golden Boot at Euro 2020 and captain the Three Lions to success, then the Tottenham striker will deserve to ultimately lift the best player of the tournament, despite his initial struggles in the group stages, having bounced back to sublime standards in the knockout phases of the competition.