Harry Kane may have been the star of Euro 2024 for England, but due to a peculiar rule alteration, he will share his Golden Boot honour with five other players. The Bayern Munich striker scored three crucial goals in total against Denmark, Slovakia and the Netherlands, helping England reach the Euro 2024 final against Spain.
However, the Three Lions fell short for the second consecutive tournament, following their penalty shootout defeat by Italy at Euro 2020. Previously, UEFA rules would have declared a single Golden Boot winner based on assists and minutes played if multiple footballers scored the same number of goals.
But a recent rule change means that Kane, Spain's Dani Olmo, the Netherlands' Cody Gakpo, Germany's Jamal Musiala, Slovakia's Ivan Schranz and Georgia's Georges Mikautadze are all recognised as 2024 Golden Boot winners. While most of these players ply their trade in top-tier football, Mikautadze, who currently plays for French Ligue 2 side Metz, will likely be celebrating this achievement more than most.
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The 23-year-old was called up for this summer's tournament by Willy Sagnol after an impressive 2023/24 season at club level, where he scored 14 goals and provided four assists across all competitions. The forward continued his impressive form into this summer's tournament.
Despite Georgia being knocked out in the round of 16 by eventual champions Spain, Mikautadze managed to find the back of the net in all three Group F matches against Portugal, Czechia and Turkey. The accolade rounds off a fantastic season for Kane at club level, where he netted an impressive 36 goals in the Bundesliga for Munich in his latest campaign.
Russia. However, it will serve as a consolation prize for the star striker, who was denied the chance to lift the European Championship for the second consecutive tournament following a 2-1 loss to Spain in Sunday's final.
Kane was unable to contribute any attacking prowess for Gareth Southgate's team, eventually being substituted in the 61st minute for Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins. At that point, the Three Lions were trailing 1-0 due to a well-executed goal from Nico Williams.
They clawed their way back into the match when Chelsea's Cole Palmer scored from the edge of the box in the 73rd minute, but unfortunately, it wasn't England's day. Mikel Oyarzabal sealed a victory for Spain in the 86th minute after some excellent teamwork with Marc Cucurella, before slipping the ball past Jordan Pickford from close range.
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