At the European Championship, the four strongest national teams are preparing for the semi-final clashes, and in total three more matches will take place, after which the new European champions will be revealed. As the tournament nears its end, the clear and main contenders for the "golden boot" title are known, and "Eurofootball.com" presents you with the statistics of the main contenders for these trophies and draws attention to how they scored their goals. Favorites: Antoine Griezmann (France) - 4 goals Shots: 17; Shots on target: 8; Where the goals were scored from: Penalty area - 4; Body part used to score goals: Left foot - 2, head - 2; How the goals were scored: From positional attack - 3, after a set-piece situation - 1; One goal every: 4.25 shots, 86.25 minutes. Scoring one goal in the group stage, Griezmann spoke when his team needed it the most - in the match against Ireland, where the French were trailing 0-1. Scoring two goals against the Irish, the forward did not stop and in the quarterfinals added another goal to his tally. Despite his small stature, Griezmann plays well with his head, as evidenced by two of the four goals he scored in this tournament being headers. In good form, the Frenchman is the top scorer in the tournament and the main favorite to win the "golden boot" title. Gareth Bale (Wales) - 3 goals Shots: 21; Shots on target: 14; Where the goals were scored from: Outside the penalty area - 2, from the penalty area - 1; Body part used to score goals: Left foot - 3; How the goals were scored: After a set-piece situation - 2, from positional attack - 1; One goal every: 7 shots, 147.7 minutes. Scoring in every group stage match, Bale has not yet shone in the knockout rounds, but his team is marching triumphantly, and the leader of the Welsh national team certainly contributes to that. The forward is the main target in the opponent's defense, so opportunities to shoot free will be very rare for him. In the match against Portugal, Wales will face without Aaron Ramsey, so the focus on Bale will be even greater. Finding opportunities to score in these championships will be difficult, so in order to become the top scorer, Bale will have to take every opportunity. Dimitri Payet (France) - 3 goals Shots: 17; Shots on target: 6; Where the goals were scored from: Outside the penalty area - 2, from the penalty area - 1; Body part used to score goals: Left foot - 2, right foot - 1; How the goals were scored: From positional attack - 2, on the counterattack - 1; One goal every: 5.67 shots, 125.7 minutes. Payet scored three times in these championships, although he has not yet used his biggest weapon - penalty kicks. However, the Frenchman showed his ability to score from a distance by scoring two of his three goals from outside the penalty area. An attacking midfielder is not the main finisher in the French national team, but given opportunities, Payet shoots without hesitation, and the fact that the West Ham United player can shoot well was already proven throughout Europe in these championships. Olivier Giroud (France) - 3 goals Shots: 12; Shots on target: 4; Where the goals were scored from: Penalty area - 3; Body part used to score goals: Head - 2, left foot - 1; How the goals were scored: After a set-piece situation - 2, from positional attack - 1; One goal every: 4 shots, 100 minutes. Although Giroud hits the target only every third shot, of the four striker's shots towards opponents' goals, the goalkeeper managed to stop only one. The Frenchman scored two out of three goals in these championships by using his height and ability to play with his head in set-piece situations. The striker is not as dangerous in positional attacks, where other French attacking players shine, but if there are many set-piece situations near the opponent's goal in the last two matches, Giroud will be the main target for which the balls will fly. In that case, there is also the possibility that the Arsenal forward will take the crown of the top scorer. Moreover, in the last 11 matches in the French national team, Giroud scored 10 goals. Other contenders for the title Hal Robson-Kanu (Wales), Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani (both Portugal) - two goals each. Three players, who will compete in the semi-final stage with two goals each in their account. Mario Gomez from Germany has scored as many goals, but his championship ended due to injury. Robson-Kanu has played the fewest minutes of all the players who have scored at least a couple of goals. Despite not playing the full 90 minutes in any match, he scored his two accurate shots. He played just over 200 minutes on the field in total. Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani, although known for their goal-scoring abilities, scored all their accurate shots in the group stage. The Portuguese national team scored more than once in just one match, against Hungary, where both Ronaldo scored his goals. All four teams remaining in the championship show a much more disciplined defense than the Hungarians, so repeating such an achievement will certainly not be easy. However, knowing the class of both Portuguese players, the possibility that they will shine in these championships and compete for the title of the top scorer cannot be ruled out. All other players who have not yet dropped out of the tournament have scored once, or are still without goals, so it is naïve to expect that any of them could match Griezmann.
