Six players share the top scorer award at Euro 2024: Germany international Jamal Musiala, Harry Kane (England), Dani Olmo (Spain), Ivan Schranz (Slovakia), Cody Gakpo (Netherlands) and George Mikautadze (Georgia) have three goals to their name at the end of the tournament and will have to share the Golden Boot award for the best scorer at the European Championship.
Ahead of the European Championship final on Sunday evening (July 14, 2024) between Spain and England (2:1), UEFA has once again confirmed that the number of goals scored is the only criterion. Assists or minutes played are not taken into account in scoring. Otherwise, the Spaniard Olmo would have won the personal trophy alone thanks to his assists.
With 14 goals, Cristiano Ronaldo is by far the all-time top scorer in all European competitions. The 39-year-old Portuguese has participated in six European Championships and was one of the top scorers in one of them in 2021 (5 goals) and 2012 (3 goals). The Frenchman Michel Platini holds the record for the most goals in a single European Championship: in 1984, he scored nine goals in just five games.
The rule change ensures six title holders.
Since Euro 2008, UEFA has had precise rules determining the top scorers in the event of a tie. Three statistics (the so-called “tie-breakers”) made the decision in descending order: most assists, least playing time, and most goals in qualifying. These tie-breakers were surprisingly abolished between Euro 2021 and the current tournament.
The rule has already been applied to the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League. After the competition, Erling Haaland (Norway) and Aleksandar Mitrovic (Serbia) were both awarded the trophy, although Haaland had another assist. UEFA only confirmed to several international media outlets on Friday (12 July 2024), two days before the final, that the elimination of play-off teams also applies to the current European Championship. Several media outlets incorrectly reported that the rule change had happened at short notice.
Back to several Top scorers
This is a return to the rule that was in place at the European Championships from 1960 to 2004. At that time, too, several players were able to share the top scorer title. This always led to long lists of top scorers. In 1992, for example, the award was shared by Dennis Bergkamp (Netherlands), Thomas Brolin (Sweden), Henrik Larsen (Denmark) and Karl-Heinz Riedle (Germany) with three goals each.
Are goals from penalty kicks counted?
Goals scored in penalty shootouts do not count in these statistics. Goals from extra time, on the other hand, do. A penalty kick that is taken and then converted counts as an assist for the player who was fouled. No assistance is given for own goals, corner kicks and free kicks converted directly. Nothing has changed in this regard even after UEFA amended its rules.
Examples of applied tie breakers
The tie rule has been used several times in tournaments from 2008 to 2021: At the last European Championship in 2021, both Patrik Schick and Cristiano Ronaldo scored five goals each. Ronaldo won the Golden Boot because he had an assist.
At Euro 2012, Fernando Torres and Mario Gomez each scored three goals and one assist. Fernando Torres won because he needed only 189 minutes for each goal (Mario Gomez needed 282 minutes). It has never happened that many players have scored the same number of goals, assists and minutes played and the number of qualifying goals should be used.
A quick look at the previous tie breakers:
- Most number of templates
- Less playing time
- Most goals scored in the qualifiers
| a race | Top Scorer (State) | Goals (Assists) |
|---|---|---|
|
2004 |
Milan Baros (Czech Republic) |
5 (1) |
|
2008 |
David Villa (Spain) |
4 (0) |
|
2012 |
Fernando Torres (Spain) |
3 (1) |
|
2016 |
Antoine Griezmann (France) |
6 (2) |
|
2021 |
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) |
5 (1) |
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