Euro 2024 is just around the corner and the excitement is building among the 24 nations vying for glory at this summer's tournament.
While the sturdiest of defences have traditionally been key for any team being successful in tournament football, goals ultimately win games and every side needs the magic formula to put the ball in the back of the net.
Indeed, several attacking players will be hoping to transfer their impressive club form in front of goal onto the continental stage, with some of those even dreaming of claiming the coveted Golden Boot award.
Here, Sports Mole takes a look at the top five teams with the best attacks heading into Euro 2024, based on player performances at club level in the 2023-24 season.
5. Germany
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Host nation Germany are bidding to win a record-extending fourth European Championship title and they have a plethora of attacking options who could fire them to glory at Euro 2024.
A total of 163 goals were scored at club level during the 2023-24 season by the 26 German players in Julian Nagelsmann's squad; none of those managed to surpass the 20-goal mark - with Stuttgart loanee Deniz Undav coming closest with 19 strikes - but seven players managed to net at least 10 times in all competitions.
Both Undav and 16-goal Hoffenheim striker Maximilian Beier are set to challenge both Kai Havertz and Niclas Fullkrug for the centre-forward spot. Havertz netted 14 times and registered seven assists for Arsenal and particularly excelled as a striker in the second half of the campaign, while Fullkrug contributed with 16 goals and 10 assists for a Borussia Dortmund side who reached the Champions League final.
Florian Wirtz was named Bundesliga Player of the Season after recording an impressive 18 goals and 20 assists for unbeaten record-breaking champions Bayer Leverkusen, and the 21-year-old is expected to feature regularly in the final third alongside Bayern Munich duo Jamal Musiala (12 goals, eight assists) and Leroy Sane (10 goals, 13 assists).
Although Joshua Kimmich played regularly in midfield for Bayern last season, chipping in with 10 assists, he is set to offer a creative spark as a right-back, allowing captain Ilkay Gundogan, Pascal Gross (both 13 assists) and soon-to-be-retiring Toni Kroos (10 assists) to pull the strings in central areas.
4. Spain
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Spain are also looking to win a record fourth European Championships this summer, with head coach Luis de la Fuente selecting a squad oozing attacking talent that is mixed with both youth and experience.
A total of 166 goals were scored at club level during the 2023-24 season by the 26 Spain players in De la Fuente's squad, with Alvaro Morata enjoying the most prolific campaign after netting 21 times for Atletico Madrid.
Morata is expected to lead the line for La Roja, but he faces competition from 34-year-old Joselu who scored 17 goals on loan at Champions League winners Real Madrid last season. Mikel Oyarzabal is also in contention to play down the middle; the Real Sociedad man scored 14 times at club level and also netted four goals across Spain's two warm-up matches ahead of Euro 2024.
One of the standout starlets to watch out for at this summer's tournament is Barcelona's 16-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal, who contributed with seven goals and 10 assists in his breakthrough season with the La Liga giants. Dani Olmo (eight goals, five assists), Ferran Torres (11 goals, four assists), and Nico Williams (eight goals, 17 assists) are also set to feature regularly in the final third.
Spain also pose an attacking threat from midfield as five of their seven midfield options contributed to a minimum of 10 goals at club level last season, including Manchester City star Rodri who somewhat surprisingly netted nine times and registered 14 assists despite playing in a deep-lying role.
Villarreal's Alex Baena is also one to watch if he gets a run-out, after providing a La Liga-high 14 assists last season, as is Alex Grimaldo who incredibly set up 19 goals as a left wing-back for Bayer Leverkusen.
3. France
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Regarded by many as the favourites to go all the way and win Euro 2024, France have one of the strongest squads heading into this summer's tournament and their attack will be spearheaded by arguably the best player on the planet in the form of Kylian Mbappe.
The 25-year-old will be joining Real Madrid in 2024-25 and departs Paris Saint-Germain as their all-time leading goalscorer, netting 44 of his 256 goals for the French giants last season. Mbappe, a Golden Boot contender at Euro 2024, remarkably scored just over 26% of the 167 goals scored at club level in 2023-24 by the 26 French players selected in Didier Deschamps's squad.
Antoine Griezmann was the second-most prolific French player last season with 24 goals and eight assists for Atletico Madrid. Many of those were scored as a centre-forward, but he is likely to operate in a deeper role for France as Mbappe or Olivier Giroud (17 goals, nine assists) leads the line.
After scoring 15 goals and providing 14 assists in his debut title-winning season at Inter Milan last season, Marcus Thuram will hope to force his way into Deschamps's plans, while PSG trio Ousmane Dembele (six goals 14 assists), Randal Kolo Muani (12 goals, six assists) and Bradley Barcola (five goals, nine assists) are among the other attacking options seeking to feature regularly at Euro 2024.
France's midfield options are not primarily in the squad to offer a major goal threat - none of the six selected by Dechamps scored more than five times at club level in 2023-24 - but their could be a greater need for the full-backs to create chances down the flanks. Indeed, both Jonathan Clauss (five goals, 12 assists) and Theo Hernandez (five goals, 11 assists) enjoyed successful individual seasons at Marseille and AC Milan respectively.
2. Portugal
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Eight years on from winning their first European Championship title, Portugal boast a well-rounded squad packed with attacking talent, including five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, the all-time top scorer at the Euros (14 goals) who is still going strong at the age of 39.
Ronaldo now plies his trade in Saudi Arabia and scored an impressive 44 goals in 45 games for Al-Nassr last season, which equates to just under 25% of the 177 goals scored at club level in 2023-24 by the 26 Portugal players named in Roberto Martinez's squad for Euro 2024.
As many as seven Portuguese players scored at least 10 goals at club level, with Diogo Jota, Rafael Leao and Bruno Fernandes all netting 15 times in total - the latter two also displayed their creative flair as they registered 14 and 13 assists respectively.
While Fernandes is set to pull the strings in midfield, Leao will be battling for a spot in an attacking front three along with the likes of Joao Felix (10 goals, six assists) and Bernardo Silva (11 goals, 10 assists), while 21-year-old Porto winger Francisco Conceicao (eight goals, eight assists) could prove to be an influential impact sub at some stage in the tournament.
Ruben Neves (seven goals, 12 assists) and Vitinha (nine goals, five assists, are two midfielders who could pose an attacking threat from midfield, while full-backs Joao Cancelo (four goals, five assists) and Diogo Dalot (three goals, five assists) will be tasked with creating goal-scoring opportunities down the flank when called upon.
1. England
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Although England followed up a 3-0 friendly win over Bosnia-Herzegovina with a dismal display in a 1-0 defeat to Iceland on June 7, few defences at the Euros will look forward to facing a Three Lions squad filled with attacking talent this summer.
A total of 242 goals were scored at club level during the 2023-24 season by the 26 England players in Gareth Southgate's squad, with seven of those netting at least 20 goals in all competitions.
Harry Kane remains England talisman and enjoyed an excellent debut season at Bayern Munich, contributing to 56 goals (44 goals, 12 assists) in just 45 appearances. The 30-year-old is arguably the first name on the Three Lions teamsheet, but if he were to pick up an injury or serve a suspension at any stage, Southgate has an adequately prolific alternative in Ollie Watkins, who fired Aston Villa to a top-four finish in the Premier League after scoring 27 goals and providing 13 assists.
Many have called for versatile attacker Phil Foden to start for England after the Premier League Player of the Season starred for champions Manchester City with 27 goals and 12 assists, while Champions League winner Jude Bellingham is set to feature heavily in Southgate's plans going forward after excelling in his first season at Real Madrid, scoring 23 goals and registering 13 assists as an attacking midfielder.
The likes of Chelsea's Cole Palmer (25 goals, 15 assists), Arsenal's Bukayo Saka (20 goals, 14 assists), West Ham United's Jarrod Bowen (20 goals, 10 assists), Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon (12 goals, 11 assists) and Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze (11 goals, six assists) will also be hoping to force their way into the first team following impressive individual seasons at club level.
In addition, Southgate is sure to be pondering how to fit Trent Alexander-Arnold into his team; the Liverpool right-back chipped in with three goals and nine assists last season and is one of the most creative assets at Southgate's disposal who has been handed the No.8 shirt having recently featured in midfield.
Kieran Trippier, meanwhile, registered 11 assists for Newcastle last season and can offer an attacking threat from open play and from dead-ball situations. The 33-year-old is set to play at left-back if Luke Shaw is not fit to feature.
Oliver Thomas
