Germany star appears a shoe-in for Euro 2012 Golden Boot

With the nations of every other three-goal players eliminated from Euro 2012, Mario Gomez now finds himself a massive favourite to top score at the tournament at 8/13.

Gomez’s march to the top of the scoring charts is impressive, not least due to the fact he was rested in Germany’s last outing, a game in which they had considerably more efforts on goal than any other in Poland and Ukraine.

The Bayern Munich striker has therefore registered three times in three starts during the competition, after also making a brief substitute appearance in the quarter-final win over Greece.

He heads into a semi-final clash with Italy enjoying clear favouritism for the Golden Boot, with Portugal’s exit, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s subsequent departure undoubtedly contributing to his price being trimmed.

Ronaldo, who scored three times at the tournament, is 8/1 for the award, along with Mario Mandzukic and Alan Dzagoev, who also registered on three occasions before their respective nations suffered elimination.

It is understandable that Gomez heads the betting for the accolade though, with his country expected to triumph in their semi-final with Italy tonight and thus advance to the Euro 2012 final.

Such a sequence of events would see Gomez afforded two more games to enhance his goal tally, and his form in Poland and Ukraine would suggest he is primed to do so.

The focal point of the German attack, Gomez has a terrific chance-conversion rate at these European Championships, and his three goals have come from just four shots on target.

Other competitors are two-goal Fernando Torres, at 10/1, and Cesc Fabregas, who is a big 20/1 shot in spite of his two-strike haul at the tournament so far.

Spain will compete in the final of the competition, but with their starting line-up difficult to predict, Torres and Fabregas could be worth avoiding as Golden Boot chances.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.