Euros 2024 is one night’s sleep from its conclusion. The Three Lions will be taking on La Roja for the prestigious continental championship title on Sunday at the Olympiastadion, Berlin. With the tournament almost over, football fans have started to discuss who should win the best player award, the best goal of the tournament award, and course, the Golden Boot. The Golden Boot is awarded to the highest scorer in the competition. Historically the award has been bestowed upon some of the greats of the game, including names such as Gerd Muller, Michel Platini, Marco Van Basten, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Kluivert, David Villa, and most notably, Cristiano Ronaldo.
So how could an award with such history be losing its credibility now? Well, that is because of UEFA’s new decision to give the award to 6 players if they are tied on equal goals at the end of the tournament if the Final between England and Spain is unable to produce a clear winner. Currently, the top scorer’s list at the Euros reads Dani Olmo(Spain), Harry Kane(England), Jamal Musiala(Germany), Georges Mikutadze(Georgia), Cody Gakpo(Netherlands) and Ivan Schranz (Slovakia) all tied at the top on 3 goals apiece.
In a scenario where neither Dani Olmo, nor Harry Kane score, and others in the Spanish or English teams don’t go beyond a 3-goal tally in the Final, the coveted Golden Boot award will be divided amongst 6 players. That in itself makes the award lose its credibility. In the last Euros, i.e., Euros 2020, it was Cristiano Ronaldo who won the Golden Boot trophy even though Patrick Schick had scored the same amount of goals as him (5). The Czech striker had to be content with the Euros Silver Boot award as he had one less assist than his Portuguese counterpart.
What could be done differently?
UEFA need to come up with a solution for these circumstances as naming 6 different players as award winners just does not feel right. One simple solution that could fix this is awarding the player with the higher G/A as they did in Euros 2020. In which case, it should be Dani Olmo who wins the award at Euros 2024 should it finish like this. The Spaniard has been exceptional whenever he has been on the pitch and has recorded a Goal/Assist in every match of the Knockout stage. Say in the future, there arises a time when the top 2-3 players on the list have the same amount of goals and assists, the player who made it the furthest in the Euros should win it. And in the last possible circumstance, if both the players are from the same country, and have the same number of goals and assists, the player with the highest Goals/per 90 ratio should win the prestigious Golden Boot award.
While this is a matter for the future, for now, UEFA needs to change its Golden Boot Award process and make sure that the coveted prize doesn’t lose its credibility. If anything it should be shared amongst Harry Kane and Dani Olmo only, since it’s the two of them who made it to the Finals amongst all other individuals who are tied at the top with 3 goals.
