Spain’s Soldado looks a tempting bet to be Euro 2012 top scorer

Spain striker Roberto Soldado is looking an increasingly tempting bet at 20/1 to finish Euro 2012 as the leading marksman.

The Valencia striker came on at half-time on Wednesday and promptly showed his international credentials by bagging a hat-trick in those closing 45 minutes.

He did make one mistake in missing a penalty, but there can be no denying that Soldado has given Spain boss Vicente del Bosque plenty to think about ahead of his squad selection for Euro 2012.

Word from Spain is that Del Bosque desperately wants to take Torres but needs to see more from the Chelsea man before the season is out.

Despite finding the net just four times in 30 appearances for the Blues this season Torres remains amongst the favourites at 12/1 to be top scorer in the Ukraine and Poland.

The 12/1 offered for Torres is exactly the same as David Villa who has been out of action since breaking his leg at the FIFA Club World Cup in December.

The Barcelona striker looks likely to make it into Del Bosque’s squad though, with the Spain boss saying he fully expects Spain’s all-time leading scorer to be fit for the finals.

Spain’s other striking option, Fernando Llorente, is a slightly longer 14/1 but continues to impress in La Liga with 12 goals in 18 appearances for Athletic Bilbao this term.

Meanwhile, Germany’s Mario Gomez is the favourite to lead the goalscoring charts but, with tough group games against Portugal, Denmark and Holland awaiting Germany, he will have his work cut out to add to his 21 international goals.

With Spain facing what should be straightforward games against Ireland and Croatia in their group, putting some cash on one of their forwards continues to look the most tempting bet – which one to back though is another question altogether.