DURBAN - The eagerly anticipated Euros are upon us. With many nations fielding world-class teams, this promises to be one of the most competitive and exciting European Championships in recent memory.
The following are five contenders for the Golden Boot award in the tournament.
Harry Kane (England)
The Englishman is a world-class performer at both club and international level. He finished as the Golden Boot winner in the 2018 World Cup and was the Premier League’s golden boot winner last season.
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If the English are to finally end their 55-year international trophy drought, good form from Kane at the Euros will be welcome. Kane is now also in the prime of his powers so expect some exciting football from him.
Karim Benzema (France)
The 33-year-old was recalled to French national team duty earlier this year following a nearly six-year absence from the game due to an off the field controversy.
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Even though he is past his prime, Benzema is still one of the best strikers in the world football and finished with 30 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid last season.
It is very likely that the Lyon born goal machine will be leading the line for France who will be one of the favourites to win the tournament.
Romelu Lukaku
The upcoming European Championships could be a do or die one for Belgium. Many players from the Red Devils so-called Golden generation will not be present at the next European Championship and it is uncertain whether the next generation of Belgian footballers will be as talented as the current one.
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Belgium enter the tournament as the world’s number one ranked team with Lukaku arguably being their most important player at the moment.
Belgium’s all-time record national team goalscorer enters the Euros on the back of an excellent season with Inter Milan. He scored 24 Serie A goals to fire Inter to their first domestic success since 2010.
Kylian Mbappe
The 22-year-old boasts an unbelievable scoring record for Paris Saint-Germain as he has netted 78 goals for the Parisiens from 80 league games.
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The 2018 World Cup Young Player of the tournament award winner is now an even better player than he was when he helped his country to win the 2018 World Cup.
Mbappe will be a focal point of Didier Deschamp’s side which will be looking to go one better and win the tournament in which they finished as runners-up in 2016 to Portugal.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Despite being 36-years-old, Ronaldo is still arguably the best player in the Portugal team. He still remains a world-class finisher after having scored 36 goals in all competitions from 44 games for Juventus last season.
As captain of Portugal, Ronaldo’s leadership and good form will be vital in determining whether Portugal can successfully defend their European Championship title.
@EshlinV
IOL Sport