The Euros are here and England is the favourites to win the competition for the first time in history. Harry Kane will be leading England’s charge, and he will also be in the running to be the competition’s top scorer and win the Golden Boot.
Alongside Kylian Mbappe, Kane’s biggest rivals to be top scorer could come from his own teammates. Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden have both had excellent goal scoring seasons for their clubs. So can either of the younger Three Lions outscore their more experienced skipper in Germany?
Top UK bookies for top scorer betting
Odds for England’s top scorer at Euro 2024
Harry Kane
Harry Kane is one of the top strikers in world football. Ahead of the Three Lions’ opening game against Serbia, Kane boasts an international record of 63 goals in 91 games for England.
Kane has also just completed a record-breaking season at Bayern Munich, scoring 36 Bundesliga goals in 32 appearances for Germany’s biggest club. This means he heads to the Euros in exceptional form and at the top of his game.
To win the Golden Boot at Euro 2024, Kane is second favourite behind France’s Kylian Mbappe. There’s not much between them in the betting with Mbappe at 9/2 and Kane at 5/1. Other names in the mix are Ronaldo, Olivier Giroud and Romelu Lukaku.
Kane is also the favourite to be the top scorer for Gareth Southgate’s England at Euro 2024. But for once, Kane has plenty of rivals within his own squad.
The threat doesn’t necessarily come from fellow strikers Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney, but more from Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden, who all had their best-ever club seasons in front of goal in 2023/24.
Jude Bellingham
When he’s not getting his bits out for Kim Kardashian, Jude Bellingham is a serious footballing talent. Everyone in the game expected outstanding things from him, but could anyone have predicted the success he has just had in his first season at Real Madrid?
In his career before Real Madrid, Bellingham found the net 24 times in 132 games in all competitions for Birmingham City and Borussia Dortmund.
In Spain, Bellingham has played 42 matches in all competitions for Real Madrid and has scored 23 times. In La Liga alone, his record is 19 goals in 28 appearances. That is some achievement.
And don’t forget, this is all from midfield.
If Bellingham can replicate his club form at the 2024 European Championship, there is every chance he may well outscore his England captain Harry Kane.
Outsider – Phil Foden
It almost seems a bit harsh to call Phil Foden an outsider, but up against Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, that’s probably how he is regarded in the goalscoring markets.
But don’t underestimate Phil Foden in front of goal. He is slowly taking over the central attacking role at the Etihad from Kevin de Bruyne, which is reflected in his club statistics.
In the 2023/24 season, Foden scored 27 goals in 52 matches for City (in all competitions). In the Premier League, he scored 19 times in 35 appearances. His previous best was 11 goals in 32. That was in 2022/23.
All this isn’t lost on Gareth Southgate, and it may be the main reason why the likes of Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish were left out.
We expect Foden to be given a prominent role in the England team, maybe more central than was expected with the emergence of Jude Bellingham. A more central role makes him a real threat to be England’s top scorer at Euro 2024.
Betting on English top scorer vs Golden Boot
Betting on being the English top scorer is different to betting on who is the top striker or goal scorer at Euro 2024.
To be the top scorer for England, an English player will have to score more goals than his teammates. To be the top scorer at the Euros, a player needs to score more goals than any other across the tournament, no matter what national team he plays for.
As a result, Harry Kane’s odds to be the top English goalscorer are far shorter than his odds to be the top striker or goal scorer at Euro 2024. In theory, top scoring for England is an easier market to top. But as just pointed out, with the talent in the England ranks, it might not necessarily be the case.
To win the Golden Boot, Kane will find himself up against the likes of Mbappe, Ronaldo, Giroud and Lukaku. And when you throw in Bellingham and Foden as well, it becomes an even more competitive betting market to win.
Want some Euro offers? Read about the best we found:
Read more about Euro 2024
Read more about Copa America 2024
About the author
Dean Etheridge
Dean Etheridge is an experienced freelance sports betting writer who specialises in football. He predominantly covers the Premier League and Champions League but can turn his hand to all aspects of the beautiful game. You can follow Dean on LinkedIn (@deanetheridge)
Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to talkSPORT. 18+. T&Cs apply. GambleAware.org
Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chase their losses
- Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
- Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
- GambleAware – www.gambleaware.org
Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.
For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.