Strikers are there to score goals, right? Yeah, sure, but in modern tactics, that’s not all that they do. So much so that when they do not score, fans start questioning their very roles.
Today we’ll be looking at goalscorers, as well as players that massively impact games in which they take part through their skill and awareness. This is a look at the best strikers in the world in the 2023/2024 season.
What was new in the use of the striker?
The striker as the opportunistic poacher is back, right? Well, yes and no. While Pep Guardiola has continued to use a poacher in Erling Haaland, and many managers like to copy any of Guardiola’s moves, the role of the attacker as a false nine, an attacking pivot, or even a free-roaming trequartista remains a reality in leagues across the world.
In fact, beyond scoring goals, the modern striker should ideally possess the following traits:
- Ability to press and contribute defensively
Is it the story of Olivier Giroud during France’s 2018 World Cup winning campaign? Did Girooud have a success when he scored no goals, but his team lifted the trophy? Yes, because the striker did a number of things well that contributed the team’s success.
One of the things that modern strikers must do is lead the press high up the pitch. They must post goalkeepers and defenders under pressure. And they must learn to disrupt build-up play, forcing turnovers.
These things test not only a striker’s ability to react tactically but also their fitness levels. For the most part, the days of strikers drifting in and out of games are over.
- Technical proficiency
It used to be that strikers were tall, strong players that simply had to make one touch and put the ball in the back of the net. But that’s something of another era. Modern strikers must possess exceptional dribbling skills. They also have to link up and play well. Generally, they must integrate seamlessly into a team’s tactical style and not feel like the odd man out.
- Ability to play multiple roles
Sure, there are exceptions to this. Erling Haaland may act as a modern-day Filippo Inzaghi, always on the shoulder of the last defender. However, for the most part, strikers are players who can be useful to their team in a number of roles. When Jude Bellingham joined Real Madrid at 20 years of age, he already had experience playing as a defensive midfielder, a playmaker, a wide player or an all-out striker. This is, for the most part, the new standard.
This means that modern strikers must not only possess the tactical know-how to integrate into these positions but also have the physical attributes required should they be asked to play, for example, as a winger or target man.
Now that the criteria are clear, just who were the best strikers in the world in the 2023/2024 season? Be warned, I will not shy away from picking a few top goalscorers. This is, after all, the most obvious standard by which a striker is still judged today.
The Best Strikers in the World in the 2023/2024 Season
1. Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
Erling Haaland remains the figurehead for the re-emergence of the striker as an essential part of winning football teams. Even though his goalscoring record took a bit of a slide this season, it was still enough for the Norwegian to win another Top Scorer award in the Premier League, technically, the most competitive league in the world.
So, is it true that Halland does nothing besides score tap-ins from inside the six-yard box? Not exactly, but he isn’t an extremely versatile striker, either. A look at his stats shows that the Norwegian shines in terms of shots taken and touches made in the opposition’s box. His passing has improved greatly, so have his expected assists. But, because of his positioning, Haaland makes few progressive passes, rarely tackles, and rarely intercepts.
Still, you can’t argue with the results. Erling Haaland’s goalscoring record and his consistency still make him the best striker in the world in the 2023/2024 season.
2. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
Harry Kane might have suffered a good deal of ridicule following England’s silver-medal Euro 2024 campaign. Yes, Gareth Southgate’s tactics looked to utilize Kane as an all-out poacher. Yes, creativity should’ve come from Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden. But Kane does his best when dropping deep and playing within the six-yard box.
Kane had an excellent season in the Bundesliga. Scoring 36 goals in 32 matches is praise-worthy, even though the German championship isn’t what it used to be.
The stats also show that Kane contributes a good deal to Bayern’s buildup. He makes 3.37 progressive passes per game, contributes to 2.61 shot-creating actions, and his 0.18 expected assists per game are not too shabby.
Harry Kane remains a player to build around, not merely stick up front.
3. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
Like Kane or Osimhen, Mbappe had a season filled with ups and downs, but you wouldn’t know it by simply reading the stats. In what turned out to be his final season for Paris Saint-Germain, the Frenchman scored 27 goals in 29 matches.
Mbappe has also significantly improved his overall game this season. He made more progressive carries or forward passes than the vast majority of top midfielders. He contributed to 4.36 shot-creating actions per game. And he has also played as a striker, as well as a left winger, and even as an attacking midfielder.
Transitioning to life at Real Madrid may be easier than some predict, provided Mbappe can be worked into a team with such talent.
4. Vinicius Jr. (Real Madrid)
Let’s not mince words. Vinicius Jr’s rise to the very top of elite football is nothing short of sensational. When he departed Brazil as a teenager, few, even in his home country, predicted that this would happen.
Its not just hype, or being part of a successful Real Madrid team that support these claims. Vini scored 21 goals in 36 games, and provided 5 assists.
He was a team player too. Vinicius Jr makes 6.75 progressive carries per game and averages 2.67 forward passes per 90 minutes. He even contributes 0.85 tackles per game. That shows how the Brazilian has become a well-rounded player and one of the best strikers in the world.
5. Victor Osimhen (Napoli)
Victor Osimhen didn’t have a poor season. Napoli did. Sure, this affected the Nigerian’s form to some degree. But Osimhen’s undeniable skill often shone through even in a 2023/24 season in which the Partenopei seemed to do wrong all of the things that they did right in the previous campaign in which they won the Scudetto.
Issues aside, Osimhen scored 15 goals in 25 matches. His number of shots and touches in the penalty area still looked good. Osimhen continued to be a powerful, quick striker capable of pressing from the front when needed.
And, yes, despite the setbacks, Osimhem still proved that he is, arguably, the most exciting striker not yet signed to one of the heavyweights of world football. Napoli will need to out all of their financial strength if they hope to keep him.
6. Paulinho (Aletico Mineiro)
South American strikers, unlike their European counterparts, have never strayed away from the formulas used in the past. Typically, they are fast and skilful and try to score entertaining goals. These skills often bring them to the attention of big European clubs who, sadly, try to eliminate some of the skillfulness from their repertoire.
One of the more exciting players in Brazil in the 2023 season was Paulinho of Atletico Mineiro. The now 24-year-old scored 20 goals last season. He now averages nearly a goal every other game for Mineiro, and his former club, Bayer Leverkusen, must be left wondering why they couldn’t get more out of this highly exciting talent.
7. Lois Openda (RB Leipzig)
Lois Openda deserves a place on the list. Just how high up the list? It depends on your natural optimism or pessimism levels.
The Belgium forward, who is only 24 years old, scored 28 goals for RB Leipzig last. He makes 2.8 progressive carries per game and seems very tactically adept at playing at a high level.
However, Openda shone in the Bundesliga, which is, frankly, an overhyped league. The striker played 70 minutes at Euro 2024 and was largely ineffective. In fact, only 33% of passes reached their target.
It just depends on which details you’d like to get hung up on.
8. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
Ollie Watkins registered a real career high in the 2023/24 season. It would be unfair to say that fans had lost hope. But certainly, few expected such a good, sustained period of good form.
Watkins scored 24 goals and provided 13 assists in the top league in the world. He scored a memorable goal for England at Euro 2024. Is this sustainable? Maybe, but the history books will note his great 2023/2024 season nonetheless.
9. Alexander Sortloth (Villareal)
Why were there so few great strikers at Euro 2024? Because most of them were Norwegian, and the Scandinavians inexplicably failed to qualify again.
Like his compatriot, Erling Haaland, Alexander Sortloth is a powerful, no-nonsense striker. He dominates opponents through strength, he has positioning skills and he is patient.
This season, Sorloth netted 23 goals in the highly competitive La Liga and even improved his overall game. At 28 years of age, it looks like some of Sortloth’s best seasons could still be ahead of him.
10. Alvaro Morata (Atletico Madrid)
What do top strikers do when they’re not scoring goals? Most of them just sit around, quite frankly. But some of them, like Morata, harass opponents, look for space and contribute to their team’s overall performance.
The freshly crowned European champion integrated seamlessly in Luis de la Fuentes‘ tactics for Spain as he did in Diego Simeone‘s setup.
Alvaro Morata’s 20 goals tell just part of the story. The player is often just as useful when he doesn’t have the ball as when he is controlling it. It’s no wonder that AC Milan was quick to sign him this summer.
Honourable mentions
I’d also like to mention a few strikers who nearly made the list of Top Strikers in the 2023/2024 season. All of these players were good in front of goals and showcased other skills that would recommend them as potential elite-level players.
My notable mentions are:
- Tiquinho Soares (Botafogo)
- Elye Wahi (Lens)
- Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus)
- Artem Dovbyk (Girona)
- Lucas Beltran (River Plate/Fiorentina)
Who will you have in your FootballCoin fantasy football for the 2024/25 season?
