The Copa America is well under way, with the group stages already done and dusted.
Argentina made light work of progressing from Group A, even though Lionel Messi had to sit out their last fixture.
And key to their success has been the goalscoring form of Lautaro Martinez, who is making up for some bad misses at the 2022 World Cup.
Brazil also progressed, with Vinicius Junior their talisman as expected, while Darwin Nunez is the key attacker for Marcelo Bielsa's free-flowing Uruguay.
Ahead of the knockouts, how is the Copa America Golden Boot race shaping up?
Lautaro Martinez (four goals)
We'll start with the leader in the race, and that is Martinez.
The forward had an outstanding season for Inter, who he led to the Scudetto while finishing as top scorer in Serie A, scoring 24 goals in 33 appearances, and comfortably outperforming his 17.6 xG.
However, he came into the build-up to this tournament in poor form for his country, having not netted for Argentina in 2026 World Cup qualifying.
But he scored a double in a 4-1 win over Guatemala in a pre-tournament friendly, and even though he has started just one of Argentina's matches so far, he has netted four times.
Martinez is also the Argentina player with the most shots (nine). In fact, since his debut in the Copa America in 2019, Martinez is the tournament's top scorer with nine goals (two in 2019, three in 2021, four in 2024), four more than Messi and Luis Diaz (five each).
It remains to be seen whether Martinez will have to settle for a super-sub role once Messi returns to the fold, but with Ecuador next up, and then a potential semi-final against either Canada or Venezuela, Argentina's path to the final is opening up nicely, and Martinez should fancy his chances.
Vinicius Junior (two goals)
Fresh from winning the Champions League with Real Madrid (and scoring in the final – again), Vinicius came into the Copa America as Brazil's talisman.
With Neymar absent through injury, the onus is on the winger to provide the creative spark and clinical edge to drag what looks like a more dogged, workmanlike squad through to the latter stages.
However, he will be absent for Brazil's clash with in-form Uruguay, who are arguably the favourites going into that tie, due to picking up two yellow cards in the group stages.
Vinicius' booking tally matches his goal tally at the tournament so far, with both of those having come in the first half of a 4-1 rout of Paraguay.
But with Brazil only having a maximum of two games left, will he have time to catch Martinez?
Darwin Nunez (two goals)
One player who could end Vinicius' hopes altogether is Uruguay forward Nunez.
The Liverpool striker is an erratic finisher, but he is an integral part of Marcelo Bielsa's free-flowing attack.
The 24-year-old may never be ultra-clinical, (he had a shot conversion rate of 10.2 per cent in the Premier League in the season just gone) but his pace, tenacity and work rate make him the ideal Bielsa folly up top.
Indeed, he has converted just one of his six Opta-defined big chances so far at this Copa America, but his two goals have come from an xG of 1.8, showing he's about on track.
If Uruguay can get past Brazil, they will face Colombia or Panama in the semi-finals. Nunez should be locking in on that Golden Boot.
Salomon Rondon (two goals)
An unlikely name on this list is Venezuela veteran Rondon, but his two goals – scored in wins over Mexico and Jamaica – helped his side top Group B with nine points.
Venezuela will face Canada in the quarters, and while Jesse Marsch's team are a surprise package in the last eight, they have proved they can be wide open defensively at times.
Only three players can better Rondon's 1.98 xG across the tournament so far, while the 34-year-old has had 13 shots, which matches Martinez's total.
He is getting into good positions and having plenty of attempts. If Venezuela indeed get the better of Canada, who's to say Rondon cannot claim this prize?
Daniel Munoz, Eduard Bello, Maximiliano Araujo (two goals)
There are three other players tied on two goals, though perhaps they are a tad more unlikely to challenge Martinez.
Munoz grabbed his second goal of the tournament in Colombia's 1-1 draw with Brazil, though as a right-back, he cannot be expected to keep up the scoring run.
Bello, meanwhile, has scored his two goals from just three shots, so that does not seem particularly sustainable.
Araujo, on the other hand, has netted twice from an xG of just 0.6, so he is overperforming.
What about Messi?
Not only did Messi finish as joint-top scorer at the 2021 Copa, he was also the leading assister and then, 18 months later, he went on to lead Argentina to World Cup glory, scoring seven goals in the process, from 6.6 expected goals – only Kylian Mbappe (eight) netted more times in Qatar.
Messi has scored 13 Copa America goals, which puts him joint-seventh on the all-time list, alongside fellow Argentina great Gabriel Batistuta.
However, he has been unable to add to that total so far.
He took on the role of creator in Argentina's opening win against Canada, and has had seven shots in total, but so far, no luck.
Mbappe at '50% is 100% for anyone else', warns De la Fuente ahead of semi-final
Luis de la Fuente has no doubt over Kylian Mbappe's threat in Spain's Euro 2024 semi-final on Tuesday, suggesting the France forward at "50% is 100% for anyone else".
Mbappe has scored just one goal from 20 shots at the tournament in Germany, a penalty against Poland in Les Bleus' final group game.
The Real Madrid-bound has been hampered by a mask, required after his broken nose against Austria in the opening game, but continues to struggle at the European Championship.
Mbappe has scored just once from 34 attempts in the Euros overall, a contrast to his record at the World Cup, where the former Paris Saint-Germain star has 12 goals from 39 shots.
Yet the Spain boss insists La Roja will not write off the Les Bleus captain, despite his recent underwhelming form.
"He is unpredictable, he never disappears," De la Fuente said at Monday's pre-match press conference. "His level at 50% is 100% for anyone else.
"He can beat someone in two moves. He is a genius and a superstar.
"We are going to try to minimise his influence, we have the tools to do it regardless of who is on the pitch. I have blind faith in my team to get to the final."
Mbappe may be a marked man for the Spanish, yet De la Fuente's team are in scintillating form as the only team to triumph in all five matches at Euro 2024 so far.
No team has ever won six matches at a single Euros tournament, however, nor managed six straight wins in the competition.
Yet De la Fuente has absolute confidence in Spain reaching their fifth European Championship final, with only Germany – who La Roja downed 2-1 in extra time in the quarter-finals – managing more with six.
"For me, my team is the best, but we have a great rival in front of us who is just as good," he added.
"I will think that my team is the best team even if they knock us out. I analyse the team's potential and they have exceptional potential.
"Everyone gets bored or has fun with what they want, football never bores me. We are recovering well, but it is only a few days, it is the same problem for everyone.
"We will see how we are tomorrow, motivation makes you overcome any adversity."
A France player is yet to score from open play at the tournament, with Les Bleus' game seeing two penalties scored and two own goals.
De la Fuente still refused to ignore the quality of Didier Deschamps' men, adding: "Physically, France are one of the strongest, we know the players and we know how to fight them."
France 'surprised' by Griezmann struggles at Euro 2024, admits Rabiot
France midfielder Adrien Rabiot admits everyone connected with the team has been "surprised" by Antoine Griezmann's struggles at Euro 2024.
France will face Spain in a huge semi-final clash in Munich on Tuesday, as they bid to reach their fourth major tournament final under Didier Deschamps.
However, Les Bleus have been strongly criticised for their failings in front of goal at the tournament, netting just three times from chances worth 8.07 expected goals (xG).
Their three goals have been two own goals and a Kylian Mbappe penalty, and they are the only team in European Championship history to attempt 50 or more non-penalty shots at a single edition without scoring with any (86).
Griezmann, one of France's star performers in their run to the 2022 World Cup final and the joint-third highest scorer in Euros history with seven goals at the competition, is among the Bleus forwards to have struggled.
He has failed to score from 11 shots worth 1.94 xG, missing all three of the big chances – as defined by Opta – to fall his way, leaving Rabiot lost for an explanation.
"We are all surprised when we know Antoine's qualities and what he did at the World Cup, where he was undoubtedly one of the best players," Rabiot said on Monday.
"I don't know how to explain it, maybe he's not as well physically. We expect a lot more from Antoine because he is capable of doing much more.
"We can win without Antoine, we have a high-level team, but obviously it would be easier if he was at the top of his game."
Mbappe has also struggled thus far, his one goal coming from 20 shots amounting to 2.74 xG, and he recently suggested Paul Pogba's absence from the France midfield had forced him to change his game.
Rabiot sees no reason why he or his fellow midfielders should feel insulted by those comments, saying: "Why would I feel targeted?
"Paul has these characteristics, you have to adapt. As a midfielder, we also adapt to different strikers. It's a question of adaptation."
The Numbers Game: Netherlands stand between England and back-to-back Euros finals
England have staggered and stuttered their way through Euro 2024, but they are nevertheless in another semi-final.
For the third time at a major tournament under Gareth Southgate, the Three Lions are in the last four – the only competition in which they have failed to reach that stage since the start of the 2018 World Cup was in Qatar in 2022.
Standing between them and successive European Championship finals are the Netherlands.
Ronald Koeman's team were unconvincing in the group stage but, unlike their opponents in Dortmund on Wednesday, have clicked into gear in the knockouts.
Whereas England required extra time – and a Jude Bellingham stunner – to break Slovakian hearts, and then stayed perfect from the spot and relied on a save from Jordan Pickford to beat Switzerland on penalties, the Oranje overcame Romania 3-0 and Turkiye 2-1, both inside 90 minutes.
But what does the data suggest ahead of the second Euros semi-final, with a place in the Berlin showpiece, against either France or Spain, on the line?
What's expected?
England have been clear favourites, according to the Opta supercomputer, for every match they have played at Euro 2024 so far. But that is not the case for this tie.
The model gives England a 37.8% chance of victory, just marginally more than the Netherlands' 31.6%; the draw threat (so, the likelihood of extra time and a penalty shoot-out) is coming in at a relatively large 30.6%.
That's not particularly surprising considering England have gone to extra time in both of their knockout ties so far.
Only Portugal at Euro 2016, Spain at Euro 2020, and Italy at Euro 2020 have ever gone to extra time three times in a single edition of the finals.
This is the fourth meeting between England and the Netherlands at a major tournament; the Oranje won 3-1 at Euro 1988 (thanks to a Marco van Basten hat-trick), followed by a goalless draw at the 1990 World Cup, and a 4-1 England win at Euro 1996.
Of all the nations England have faced 20+ times in their history, only against Brazil (15%) do they have a lower win rate than they do against the Netherlands (27% – six wins, nine draws, seven defeats).
In fact, England have won just one of their last nine meetings with the Netherlands in all competitions (four draws, four losses), winning a friendly 1-0 in Amsterdam in March 2018.
Back-to-back?
While Southgate has come under criticism for the level of performances in Germany, his major tournament record is hard to argue with.
England went 22 years between 1996 and 2018 without reaching a semi-final. Since the start of that tournament in Russia, England have reached the stage three times.
Indeed, having gone 65 years without reaching a final, England are now on the brink of back-to-back appearances in a major tournament's biggest event.
This is England's fourth appearance in the semi-final of the European Championships; having been eliminated in the first two in 1968 (vs Yugoslavia) and 1996 (vs Germany), the Three Lions reached the final of Euro 2020 after beating Denmark 2-1, only to lose on penalties to Italy at Wembley.
Bukayo Saka cast aside the demons of that final shoot-out with his composed effort from 12 yards against the Swiss, and it was his superb strike that forced extra time in the first place.
There have been five occasions of a team reaching the final of consecutive editions of the Euros; USSR (1960/1964), Germany (three times, 1972/1976, 1976/1980, 1992/1996) and Spain (2008/2012).
Change the record
For the Dutch, it will be a sixth semi-final at the Euros. They have lost their last four, with the one they won coming in 1988 – they went on to win that tournament, with Van Basten scoring one of the most famous goals in the competition's history in the final, which took place in Munich.
This is the Netherlands' first Euros semi-final since 2004. On that occasion, they lost 2-1 to host nation Portugal.
The Netherlands have won two different matches having conceded the first goal at Euro 2024, beating Poland 2-1 in the group stage and Turkiye by the same scoreline in the quarter-final.
Only Czechia, at Euro 2004, have ever won three games having conceded first at a single edition of the tournament, but it does show England – who have proved comeback specialists themselves in the knockouts – must be wary.
The Netherlands have scored nine goals across their five games at Euro 2024, while their 8.12 expected goals (xG) ranks them fourth in the competition.
England, on the other hand, have mustered just 4.36 xG, scoring five times. The Oranje also average more touches in the opposition box than the Three Lions (29.8 per game compared to 25.6).
Defensively, both of these teams have been tight, conceding just seven goals between them, but if the Dutch are to change the record when it comes to their Euros runs in the modern era, this is as good a chance as any.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Netherlands – Memphis Depay
In Depay (17 shots, 10 chances created) and Cody Gakpo (13 shots, 11 chances created), the Netherlands are the only side with more than one player to have both 10+ shots and 10+ chances created at Euro 2024.
Indeed, one or both of Depay and/or Gakpo have been directly involved in 47 of the Netherlands' 74 shots at these Euros (63.5%), and six of their nine goals (66.7%).
While Gakpo has been their primary goalscorer, and has a shot at the Golden Boot, Depay has that magical touch when he's on his best form, and displayed his quality with an excellent delivery for Stefan de Vrij's equaliser against Turkiye.
England – Harry Kane
Coming into the semi-finals, no player has scored more knockout stage goals in the competition’s history than Harry Kane (five, level with Antoine Griezmann).
Kane scored in the semi-final of Euro 2020 against Denmark; only two players have ever scored at this stage of consecutive European Championships – Viktor Ponedelnik and Valentin Ivanov, both for USSR in 1960/1964.
That being said, despite scoring twice in Germany so far, Kane has largely cut a frustrated figure, and has managed just 23 touches in the opponent's box throughout the tournament.
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