Euro 2012 best England goalscorer odds

Who will be England's star striker at Euro 2012?

Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney © GEPA pictures

Euro 2012 best England goalscorer odds look to genuinely be a bit limited. New England manager Roy Hodgson has opted to take just four strikers with him, including Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney who will miss the first two group matches. So while Germany, Spain and the Netherlands are dominating the top goalscorer market with the likes of Mario Gomez, David Villa, Robin van Persie and Klass-Jan Huntelaar, England appear to be a bit lacking in this department. However, that could translate to good news because it means that the England options for the top goalscorer market will bring plenty of value.

Indeed, Wayne Rooney, despite only being able to play one of the three Group Matches at Euro 2012, is still England’s lowest priced option in the Euro 2012 top goalscorer market. So that paints a bit of a sorry picture for England’s other forwards. Rooney is trading at 40/1 with BetFair at the moment though, but having really failed to deliver for his country at major finals before, will it be a case of him trying extra hard when he does return to the side? The fact is that England need him, they need his goals. However, a replacement is going to have to come in for England’s first matches against France and then Sweden, and the youthfulness of Man United’s Danny Welbeck may get the nod ahead of Jermain Defoe.

Welbeck is trading at 66/1 with BetFair, the same price as Liveprool’s Andy Carroll, with the more experienced Jermain Defoe trading at 50/1. So seeing an Englishman finish the tournament as top scorer looks a bit of a stretch to be honest. The last Englishman to finish a European Championships as top scorer was…..? That was back at Euro 96 when Alan Shearer netted five times for the Three Lions. The former Newcastle star is the only Englishman to ever finish as top scorer at the European Championship finals. England may be one of those teams where the strikers may play a secondary role to midfield support, where goals from Frank Lampard and Ashley Young at 66/1 could be more viable options.

But there is no need to limit yourself to looking at just the Euro 2012 top goalscorer market. Why? Because you can dip your betting toes into the waters of the more specific market of England Top Scorer. Here you are going to find odds far more to your liking with online bookmakers really split between the potential contributions of Danny Welbeck and Andy Carroll. You can get an average of around 6/1 on either of them at online betting exchange BetFair. Manchester United’s Ashley Young, usually a spark of pace and creativity is also handily priced in this market at 7/1 with Rooney coming in at 11/2. Mid-fielders Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are both at 10/1 with online bookmaker Bet365 in Euro 2012 best England goalscorer odds.