Kluivert heads chase for Golden Boot

Kluivert is the clear favourite to finish as top scorer

BBC Sport Online reviews the race for the tournament's top scorer as Euro 2000 nears its climax.

Patrick Kluivert tops the scoring charts with Savo Milosevic - and after his hat-trick against the Yugoslavs, the Dutch striker is odds-on favourite to scoop the Golden Boot.

Kluivert and Milosevic, who is out of the tournament, lead the list on five goals.

Others who were in hot pursuit now have no more chances to add to their tallies, so possible challengers to these two are few and far between.

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A rundown of the Golden Boot race so far:

Patrick Kluivert (Holland - 5 goals)
Performed heroics against Yugoslavia in Holland's 6-1 rout to reach the semi-finals.

Has overcome a number of personal problems, on and off the pitch, and has also won a major battle in regaining the support of the Dutch fans.

Definitely helped by the quality of players around him, not least with Edgar Davids and Marc Overmars in fine form, the composure and confidence shown in the treble scored against Yugoslavia is a true indication of his obvious talent.

Despite Kluivert's honesty after the Yugoslavia game, when he announced he had scored three, not four, there seems little hope for the chasing pack - unless he gets goal-shy and others can start banging them in.

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Savo Milosevic (Yugoslavia - 5 goals)
Without doubt the surprise package in terms of finding the back of the net.

Milosevic may still share top spot

His five strikes have all been close range efforts to say the least but each one taken with an assurance and composure often lacking during his time at Aston Villa.

Milosevic's goals helped an inconsistent Yugoslavia side reach the quarter-finals and his achievements certainly eclipsed the efforts of his more illustrious strike partner Predrag Mijatovic.

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Nuno Gomes (Portugal - 4 goals)
Portugal's resurgence at Euro 2000 could arguably have turned after one crucial goal against England.

Gomes gave his all

Gomes scored that winner, condemning the English to misery and the rest is history.

Gomes scored both goals against Turkey, ensuring Portugal's safe passage to the semi-finals, and put them ahead early on against France with a stunningly instinctive volley.

Was certainly helped by the artistry of Rui Costa and Luis Figo but developed magnificently having only been a second-choice striker before the start of the tournament.

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Thierry Henry (France - 3 goals)
French striker Henry has been superb this tournament, scoring in the defeats of Denmark, the Czech Republic and Portugal.

Henry helping French cause

Henry had not played for his country for 18 months before scoring against Scotland just weeks before Euro 2000 kicked off.

But his excellent form for Arsenal was rewarded with a timely recall to the national side.

Henry's pace and skill has terrorised every European defence and perhaps if he had played against Holland in the group stages, he would be contending for the Golden Boot with a little more vigour.

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Filippo Inzaghi (Italy - 2 goals)
Italy's progress in the championships has not exactly been spectacular - but they have looked sharp in front of goal.

Inzaghi looking for goals

Although they cannot claim to be as entertaining as the other three semi-finalists, they have scored twice in each of their four games.

Inzaghi suffered an extremely barren spell prior to the tournament but grabbed important goals in the opening game against Turkey and in the quarter-final with Romania.

Coach Dino Zoff has tried a number of combinations up-front, with Inzaghi and Francesco Totti seeming to be the favourites, relegating Alessandro Del Piero to a regular spot on the bench.

Inzaghi's pace and ingenuity has unsettled most defences, including one controversial run against the Turks. The ensuing penalty ultimately won the game for the Italians.

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Other contenders:

Francesco Totti - Italy, two goals
Youri Djorkaeff - France, two goals
Frank de Boer - Holland, two goals