Bruce Dias 
UEFA Euro 2024 is just around the corner, and excitement is reaching a fever pitch as to who will walk away from Berlin’s Olympiastadion on July 14th with the tag of European Champions. However, the Golden Boot race also deserves plenty of attention. Over the years, the award has been claimed by a number of the continent’s top stars, with Cristiano Ronaldo reigning supreme in 2021, Antoine Griezmann five years before that and Fernando Torres back in 2012. But who will fancy their chances of winning the coveted trophy this summer?
Harry Kane
Harry Kane used to ply his trade at the finest football stadium in the Premer League when he was the main man for Tottenham Hotspur. Now, he is the number nine for Germany’s biggest club, Bayern Munich. And despite the Bavarians having a less than stellar year this term, the England captain’s goalscoring exploits throughout the country where Euro 2024 will be held this summer should serve him in good stead once the competition gets underway in June. He has netted 37 goals in 35 games in all competitions this term, which can only breed confidence ahead of the Euros.
Captain Kane has plenty of motivation, spurring him on in a Three Lions shirt. His missed penalty in the dying embers of the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal against France sent his team crashing out from the Qatar-hosted showpiece while Les Bleus competed in their second straight final. He will be among those who make that a distant memory as he scores goal after goal in Germany this June and July.
Kylian Mbappe
Speaking of the French, their main man and new captain, Kylian Mbappe, is continually at the top of the scoring charts. In that aforementioned final—one that ultimately ended in defeat to Lionel Messi’s Argentina—Paris Saint-Germain bagged an awe-inspiring hat trick that set the pulse racing. Despite being just 25 years of age, he is already the sixth-highest scorer in the history of the World Cup, with 12 goals in 14 games. He also has the most goals in the World Cup finals, with four.
However, his exploits could have been more emphatic on the continental stage. Three years ago, at the delayed Euro 2020 tournament, his missed penalty in the second-round contest against Switzerland sent the French packing despite being heavy favorites. He will do his utmost to replicate his World Cup form in continental competition and lead his country to the trophy for the first time since Euro 2000.
