Due to the coronavirus pandemic, football fans have had to wait five years for the latest edition of the European Championship.
Portugal came out on top at Euro 2016 the last time the continent’s best players did battle.
They defeated hosts France in the final, although Les Bleus bounced back from that disappointment to secure World Cup glory in 2018.
Both Portugal and France, along with England and Netherlands, have players who feature prominently in the list of the greatest EURO goalscorers.
Ahead of Euro 2020 – which will belatedly take place in 2021 – we have reviewed the Euros all-time top scorers.
Who is the all-time top Euros scorer?
The highest goalscorers in Euros history
| Position | Name | Goals | Matches |
| 1. | Michel Platini | 9 | 5 |
| 2. | Cristiano Ronaldo | 9 | 21 |
| 3. | Alan Shearer | 7 | 9 |
| 4. | Antoine Griezmann | 6 | 7 |
| 5. | Ruud van Nistelrooy | 6 | 8 |
| 6. | Patrick Kluivert | 6 | 9 |
| 7. | Wayne Rooney | 6 | 10 |
| 8. | Thierry Henry | 6 | 11 |
| 9. | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | 6 | 13 |
| 10. | Nuno Gomes | 6 | 14 |
| 11. | Savo Milošević | 5 | 4 |
| 12. | Marco van Basten | 5 | 9 |
| 13. | Milan Baros | 5 | 11 |
| 14. | Jurgen Klinsmann | 5 | 13 |
| 15. | Fernando Torres | 5 | 13 |
| 16. | Mario Gomez | 5 | 13 |
| 17. | Zinedine Zidane | 5 | 14 |
| 18. | Gerd Müller | 4 | 2 |
| 19. | Dieter Müller | 4 | 2 |
| 20. | David Villa | 4 | 4 |
Two players are tied at the top with nine goals in the ranking of Euros top scorers: Michel Platini and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Platini has scored nine goals in just five games at the Euros, while Ronaldo has made 21 appearances to reach the same EURO goal tally.
Former Real Madrid and Man Utd star Ronaldo will be optimistic of getting the one goal he needs to take the outright lead when the tournament – which will be his fifth European Championship appearance – begins.
One player who may also fancy his chances of reaching top spot before the end of his career is Antoine Griezmann.
The Barcelona forward will be 30 at this year’s Euros and 33 at the next, so could get two cracks at it if he avoids injury and is still performing well enough to be in contention for France selection at both tournaments.
Retired Platini and 36-year-old Ronaldo are currently the greatest goalscorers at the Euros, but Griezmann is just three behind with the advantage of having time on his side.
Alan Shearer scored seven goals in nine European Championship appearances and may have had a chance of reaching Platini had he not cut short his England career after Euro 2000.
Former Man Utd duo Wayne Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy are among the greats who retired with six EURO goals to their name, along with Arsenal and France star Thierry Henry.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Nuno Gomes and Patrick Kluivert (all six goals) complete the 10 players who have scored the most goals at the European Championship going into this year’s event.
There are no active players on the list of those who have scored five, but Euro 2020 will see a host of star forwards like Harry Kane stake their claim to be featured among the Euros top scorers.
Alvaro Morata has three goals for Spain after his efforts in 2016 and could be a name to watch if he gets off to a good start at Euro 2020.
Who has scored the most Euro goals, including qualifiers?
When you include qualification matches, Cristiano Ronaldo is clearly the Euros top scorer.
Juventus forward Ronaldo has scored a record 31 times in qualifying for the European Championship in a total of 35 matches.
Added to his nine goals in the main tournament, that gives him a total of 40 goals from 56 games.
Ronaldo has the most overall goals and is way ahead of the man in second place, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Ibrahimovic has 19 qualifying goals in the European Championship.
Added to his six goals at the full EURO, the Milan forward takes second spot with 25 goals.
Republic of Ireland striker Robbie Keane comes next. Notably, all 23 of his goals in the competition came in qualifying.
That is because despite Keane’s goals, Ireland did not qualify for the Euros in 2000, 2004 and 2008. They eventually did so in 2012 and 2016, but the veteran striker was unable to net in five outings.
Jon Dahl Tomasson is also one of the highest scorers. He reached 23, three of which came in the main European Championship.
Robert Lewandowski is on 19 qualifying goals and has also netted twice in the competition proper, while Hakan Sükür and Jan Koller also have a combined 21.
Who has scored the most Euros goals in a single tournament?
All nine of Platini’s Euros goals were scored in an incredible 1984 competition, so as well as sharing the overall record, he is also the highest scorer in a single tournament.
In a remarkable feat, Platini scored in every match he played as France won the trophy for a first time – and only one of his nine strikes was a penalty.
He netted the first goal in 2-0 final win over Spain, as well as an extra-time winner in the thrilling 3-2 semi-final against Portugal.
In the group stages, Platini – then playing for Juventus – scored seven times in three games, with two hat-tricks.
He started the competition by scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over Denmark, then netted trebles as France defeated Belgium 5-0 and Yugoslavia 3-2.
No player has threatened to come close to that record since.
The second best EURO top scorer in a single competition is Platini’s fellow Frenchman Antoine Griezmann.
Griezmann scored six times in seven matches at Euro 2016. Most impressively, five of those European Championship strikes came in the knockout rounds.
After that, the most goals scored in a single tournament is five. That tally was reached at four different Euros by five different players.
Netherlands icon Marco van Basten netted on five occasions at the famous 1988 tournament, while Alan Shearer did the same for England as they hosted Euro ’96.
Savo Milošević and Patrick Kluviert both scored five times at Euro 2000, while Milan Baros was top scorer with five in as many games for Czech Republic in 2004.
