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regular-article-logo Saturday, 20 April 2024

Will Harry Kane go past Cristiano Ronaldo in the Golden Boot race?

The Tottenham Hotspur man needs two more goals to leapfrog the Portugal captain in the tournament goals tally

Our Bureau Published 09.07.21, 05:56 PM
Harry Kane.

Harry Kane. File Photo.

The first half of the tournament was all about Cristiano Ronaldo, who was on a record-shattering spree. The Portugal captain broke Michel Platini's record of the highest goals in the Euros, and then equalled Ali Daei's record of 109 international goals in men's football.

The knockout stages of the tournament have been in Harry Kane’s grasp, who found his scoring boots against Germany in the round of 16, and then continued to find the back of the net in the quarters against Ukraine and then versus Denmark in the controversy-laden semi-final.

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Ronaldo is currently joint top rank holder with Czech Republic's wonder goal scorer Patrik Schick. Third on the list is Karim Benzema with four goals. Then come Sweden's Emil Forsberg and Belgium's Romelu Lukaku, at four and five, respectively. Now that all these players are no longer active in Euro 2020, Harry Kane looks like the only contender to grab the Golden Boot in the summit showdown versus Italy on Sunday.

The Tottenham Hotspur man, who went goalless in the group stages, has peaked at the right time in the tournament with four goals in the knockout games. Kane must be aware of Italy's defensive capabilities, and will have to put in the hard yards if he has to even level with the Juventus main man.

For the Three Lions, there’s Raheem Sterling as well. He has three goals in his kitty. Sterling had a major role to play in England moving into the round of 16, as he was the chief contributor with two goals in the group stage for the Three Lions. The Manchester City man will need a hat-trick to leave Ronaldo and Schick behind.

In the Azzurri dugout, five Italian players are on two goals each, which means only a hat-trick can pull them level with Schick and Ronaldo, and this looks like a long shot.

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