Who Will Win the EURO 2020 Golden Boot?
With just 7 matches remaining the Euro Golden Boot race is coming to a close. The field is chasing Cristiano Ronaldo who is searching for his first Euro Golden Boot in his record 5th appearance at the Euros. The question is will anybody be able to track Ronaldo down.
UEFA EURO 2020 Golden Boot | The Frontrunners
Cristiano Ronaldo (5 goals) – Ronaldo did his part netting 5 goals in just 4 games. Portugal was not able to get past Belgium in the knockout stage leaving the race out of Ronaldo’s hands.
Patrik Schick (4 goals) – The Czech Republic forward scored arguably the most impressive goal of the tournament thus far. He netted a 50-yard goal against Scotland in the group stage and has netted 3 goals since.
Romelu Lukaku (3 goals) – Lukaku has been a key part of Belgium’s success in this tournament leading them to a 4-0-0 undefeated record to this point. He scored twice in the opener against Russia then once against Finland.
Raheem Sterling (3 goals) – The English forward has been the bright spot in what has looked like a lackluster English squad so far in the Euros. He has scored 3 of England’s four goals and each of his goals were to give England the lead which they would hold in 3 of the 4 games.
The Longshots
Thorgan Hazard (2 goals) – Thorgan Hazard has come on well for Belgium in this tournament. He has only played in 3 of the 4 matches for Belgium and netted the winner in the knockout stage against Portugal.
Ciro Immobile (2 goals) – The forward has scored two goals for the undefeated Italian squad.
Ferran Torres (2 goals) – Torres has seemed to find his stride along with the rest of the Spaniards. He has scored in back-to-back games and Spain has scored 5 goals in back-to-back games.
Kasper Dolberg (2 goals) – Denmark forward scored both of his goals in a 4-0 rout of Wales in the round of 16.
Who Can Catch Ronaldo?
At the moment Ronaldo is obviously the number 1 candidate, but I think there are a few guys on this list who can catch him and maybe even surpass the 5 goals. Ronaldo has 1 assist if there were to be a tie.
I think any of the frontrunners Schick, Sterling, or Lukaku can pass Ronaldo.
Schick needs two goals. I think if Czech Republic were to win against Denmark they would need 1 goal from Schick which would still leave him needing one more. If Czech Republic were to win I could see Schick netting 2 goals. Denmark is a solid team, but they have conceded 4 goals in 4 matches.
Lukaku is going to be a big threat to Cristiano’s bid for the boot. He is not the only scoring option for Belgium and I think he is dangerous to score at any point in any game due to such a deep Belgium roster.
The only way Sterling would pass Ronaldo in my opinion is if England were to win their next 2 matches and reach the final.
Out of the longshots, I can only see Ciro Immobile catching Ronaldo and that would be a stretch even if Italy were to advance to the finals.
Who Will Win?
I think Lukaku will win the EURO 2020 Golden Boot if Belgium were to reach the final. He is one of the top strikers in this tournament and is a key to Belgium’s success. The Belgium roster has so much talent and goal-scoring ability in De Bruyne, the Hazard brothers, and Meunier. This will spread out whatever defense they face and leave openings for Lukaku to get his shots off.
If Belgium were to be bounced I would favor Cristiano Ronaldo to hang on and win the boot. I like Denmark to advance over Czech Republic so unless Schick passes Ronaldo on Saturday I think it is a 2 horse race.
My Prediction: Romelu Lukaku
