UEFA changes the rules at the last minute, Harry Kane suddenly benefits at EURO 2024

UEFA changes rules at the last minute, affecting the race for the EURO Golden Boot

Under previous UEFA regulations, if multiple players finished the tournament with the same number of goals, the Golden Boot award would be given to the player with the most assists. This rule helped Cristiano Ronaldo win this prestigious individual award in 2016.

EURO 2024 currently sees six players scoring three goals at the tournament, including Dani Olmo (Spain), Harry Kane (England), Cody Gakpo (Netherlands), Jamal Musiala (Germany), Ivan Schranz (Switzerland) and Georges Mikautadze (Georgia). With three assists, Olmo seems to be leading the pack among these six players.

However, ahead of the final between England and Spain, UEFA made a surprise announcement about the Golden Boot rules. UEFA confirmed that the award would be split among the players if no one finished top of the scoring charts. Olmo has the most assists of the six players, so the change from UEFA will be good news for Harry Kane.

Kane scored in the semi-final against the Netherlands, becoming the player with the most goals in the knockout stages of major tournaments (EURO and World Cup) than any other European player in history. Kane surpassed Kylian Mbappe, Gerd Muller, Antoine Griezmann and Miroslav Klose, who all have eight goals.

Speaking ahead of the EURO 2024 final, the England striker said: "I want to score more goals. However, this year's tournament has seen fewer goals for various reasons. Teams are playing more tightly and organised, making it more difficult for highly rated teams to score."

Meanwhile, Spain striker Dani Olmo said he and his teammates are not interested in personal records but are only focused on the goal of winning the final.

"We are only thinking about the final, not about the record or what will happen after the tournament," Olmo said. "We have 90 minutes left to win after three years of not playing in a final. We will fight to win."

The EURO 2024 final between England and Spain will take place at 2am on Monday (Vietnam time).