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Germany legend Miroslav Klose expects his iconic World Cup goal-scoring record to be shattered during the current tournament cycle in North America. The former striker feels the expanded tournament format provides the perfect platform for elite forwards to surpass his historic tally, with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe leading the chase.
The 2026 tournament curtain-raiser saw co-hosts Mexico defeat South Africa, officially initiating the race for international football’s ultimate individual milestone. Former Bayern Munich frontman Klose currently sits atop the all-time standings, having registered an astonishing 16 goals across 24 appearances on the global stage. However, with the tournament structure expanding to offer more fixtures, the legendary marksman acknowledges that his long-standing clinical dominance is nearing its inevitable conclusion.
Opening up about the inevitability of his milestone falling, the 48-year-old FC Nurnberg manager revealed his absolute admiration for Argentina’s talismanic captain. He toldSuddeutsche Zeitung: “I expect my record to be broken in this tournament.
“With more teams, there are more matches and therefore more opportunities to score goals. And I expect Argentina and France to go far. That’s perfectly fine, the record will be broken eventually anyway, Messi is welcome to do it. I’m a huge Messi fan, always have been.”
The former striker went on to praise the individual brilliance of the Inter Miami forward while highlighting his close bond with the current Albiceleste boss, adding: “Messi is a genius. And I also have a lot of respect for the Argentinian coach Scaloni. I played with him at Lazio. He showed me around the city a bit back then. We’re good friends.”
