Alessia Russo, Alexia Putellas and the top 10 Euro 2025 Golden Boot contenders - ranked

Pernille Harder would be much higher on this list if there were not questions about how Denmark will perform at this summer's Euros. The Bayern Munich star is one of the very best players in the world and comes into this tournament off the back of a sublime campaign, with her individual brilliance regularly at the heart of the German giants' domestic treble. For her country, she is as important, wearing the captain's armband and so often instigating their best moments - plus, she takes penalties.

However, Denmark are, for starters, a team that tend to share the goals around, and they find themselves in a tricky group with eight-time winners Germany, a Poland side that will look to frustrate opponents and Sweden, who battered Denmark 6-1 in June. If Harder was to top the scoring charts at Euro 2025, it wouldn't be an earth-shattering surprise, but it will only occur if the Danes up their level and go far in the tournament.

With questions surrounding the fitness of Vivianne Miedema, Lineth Beerensteyn is a safer bet when it comes to looking at who will be the Netherlands' main source of goals at Euro 2025. The Wolfsburg winger comes into the tournament after a prolific campaign in Germany, netting a league-leading 17 times in 20 Bundesliga appearances, and she netted three goals in her first four games for her country this year, too.

There are a couple of caveats, though. One is that while Beerensteyn is so good at getting into goal-scoring positions, her clinical touch can sometimes go missing. That was the case at times in the Netherlands' run to the quarter-finals of the 2023 Women's World Cup, with the 28-year-old guilty of missing some big chances that could've knocked Spain out in the last eight.

The other big factor here is the fortunes of the Dutch in general. Andries Jonker's side are in a tough group with France, England and Wales and will need to get out of that for Beerensteyn to be a Golden Boot contender.

Though she may play second fiddle to Alessia Russo at Arsenal, Stina Blackstenius is the starting centre-forward for Sweden. Peter Gerhardsson's team can be streaky, as the contrast between two low-scoring draws with Wales and a 6-1 battering of Denmark in this year's Nations League shows. Similar can be said of Blackstenius, who is unpredictable in front of goal. However, she can also turn up in the very biggest moments - see her match-winner in this year's Champions League final.

Unless Denmark really up their game, Sweden will be the favourites to progress from Group C with Germany, and they have the experience to go far in Switzerland. Do that, and Blackstenius could well be in the mix for the Golden Boot.

Since reaching the final of Euro 2013, Norway have been seriously underwhelming at major tournaments despite boasting a ton of elite talent in their squad, such as a Ballon d'Or winner in Ada Hegerberg and a runner-up for that award in Caroline Graham Hansen. This year, though, should be different.

Gemma Grainger's side are in, quite frankly, the easiest group at the tournament. Hosts Switzerland have never made the knockout stages of the Euros; Iceland have once, in 2013, when they won one group-stage match - and that is their only ever victory in four appearances at the tournament; while Finland haven't progressed to the knockouts since their home tournament in 2009. Norway, then, are big favourites to top this group and, with their world-class attacking quality, they should score a few goals along the way.

It's unclear who will be the starting No.9, between Hegerberg and Elisabeth Terland, so it's hard to bank on either of them for a Golden Boot charge. Graham Hansen and Frida Maanum, the Arsenal midfielder, will likely chip in with a goal or two, but Guro Reiten is one who could be a dark horse for that top-scorer accolade. The Chelsea winger is fully fit again after some recent struggles and is a regular source of goals when she gets going. She will also take Norway's penalties.

Italy are the dark horses of this tournament and so it's always important to be careful with that, as teams with that tag almost seem to underwhelm more often than they live up to expectations. But there is real confidence that the Azzurre can progress from a group that also features Spain, Belgium and Portugal - and score a heck of a lot of goals along the way. They've had some real shootouts with top nations in recent times, too, so that Spain fixture might be a concern when it comes to getting points, but not as much of a concern for anyone backing Cristiana Girelli to be the Golden Boot winner.

At 35 years old, the Juventus striker has just had one of her best seasons in years, scoring 19 league goals to fire the club to a first Serie A title since 2022, before netting twice in the Coppa Italia final to defeat Roma, too. She's just as important for Italy, for whom she scored three times in four Nations League outings.

All three of the Azzurre's group-stage opponents are prone to shipping goals - Spain included - and that, combined with Italy's likelihood of finishing in the top two, makes Girelli an enticing pick to be the tournament's top-scorer.

Marie-Antoinette Katoto is another who would be higher up this list in different circumstances. The 26-year-old didn't return the eye-popping numbers she usually does for Paris Saint-Germain this past season, though that was amid a fractured relationship with head coach Fabrice Abriel and her eventual exit from the club she has been at for 11 years.

Despite all that, she still scored 12 times in 16 league starts. Having finally settled her club future, securing a move to Lyon at the start of June, and got out of the tense environment at PSG, it wouldn't be a surprise if Katoto takes off at the Euros. After all, she loves the big stage, scoring five times in four games at last year's home Olympics.

If she can deliver form like that again, the questions around France and whether or not they can get out of this tough group will likely be rendered meaningless. She can fire them far in this tournament.

It feels odd to rank a two-time Ballon d'Or winner this low in this list, and Alexia Putellas' form this season could well see her tally of Golden Balls go up to three later this year, especially if it is backed up by a big Euros. But the Barcelona star has only scored twice in Spain's Nations League campaign this year - and those goals came in a 7-1 thrashing of Portugal. She's not exactly been their main threat when it comes to finding the back of the net.

It wouldn't be a surprise, however, if that changes at the Euros. This is a world-class footballer who rises to the big occasions and is capable of grabbing games by the scruff of the neck. We saw that last summer at the Olympics, where Putellas was La Roja's best player. If Montse Tome doesn't inexplicably drop her to the bench this time around, she's one to watch in a Spain squad that, in truth, is packed full of talent capable of challenging for the Golden Boot.

It feels a pretty safe bet that Alessia Russo will be England's top-scorer at Euro 2025, but the tournament in general is slightly less likely. After all, the Lionesses are in a tough group and it's difficult to see them scoring a bucket load of goals in it, with even the small fish in this pond, Wales, having a great defensive record.

If England are to make their way all the way to the final, Russo would be a front-runner, as it wouldn't be a surprise to see her put up five or six goals along that journey. But there is a chance that the Lionesses' run is ended before that point, with the group stage even a serious obstacle. For those that rate England's chances highly, their star striker would be a good pick as the Golden Boot winner. Those who have doubts may want to look elsewhere.

If Claudia Pina was a guaranteed starter at the Euros, she would probably rank at the very top of this list. The top-scorer in this season's Champions League, scoring 10 times in six starts in Europe, Pina also netted 20 times in league action fro Barcelona despite, again, not always being in the line-up from the get-go.

She is in a similar position with Spain, as evident in La Roja's recent win over England. Introduced shortly after half-time with her team trailing 1-0, the 23-year-old netted twice in 10 second-half minutes to turn the game around and seal Spain's place in the Nations League finals.

With Salma Paralluelo not at her most effective as of late, it wouldn't be a surprise if Pina is able to usurp her into Montse Tome's XI - and even if not, she's shown that she can find the back of the net with whatever minutes she is given.

No one scored more goals in the Nations League in the first half of this year than Lea Schuller, who is set to lead the line for a free-scoring Germany team this summer. The Bayern Munich star netted five times as her country scored a remarkable 22 goals in just six games in that competition, with the impressive attacking play of the whole side certainly boding well for Schuller's Golden Boot chances.

There should be the opportunity to score goals in Germany's group, too. After all, the eight-time European champions are not the sort of team that should struggle to break down a pragmatic Poland, with Denmark also proving leaky at times. Moreover, Christian Wuck's team are one of the front-runners to win this title, and if they live up to that expectation, there will be plenty of room for Schuller to rack up the goals.