German the all-time leading scorer of the World Cup Miroslav Klose admitted that he expects his long-standing tournament goalscoring record to fall during the 2026 FIFA World Cupwith Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe emerging as the leading contenders to surpass his mark.
Klose, who scored 16 goals in 24 World Cup appearances for Germany, has held the record since overtaking Brazilian legend Ronaldo at the 2014 World Cup.
However, the former striker believes the expanded 48-team competition makes it more likely that his achievement will be overshadowed.
Klose welcomes the challenge of Messi
The former Bayern Munich striker said he would be delighted if Argentina captain Messi became the player to break the record.
“I expect my record to be broken in this tournament,” Klose told Suddeutsche Zeitung.
“With more teams, there are more games and therefore more chances to score goals. And I expect Argentina and France to go far. That’s fine, the record will be broken in the end anyway, Messi is welcome to do it. I’m a big Messi fan, always have been.”
Messi entered the tournament with 13 World Cup goals, leaving him just three goals away from Klose’s tally.
The Argentine, who led his country to World Cup glory in Qatar four years ago, is expected to play a key role again as Argentina look to defend their title.
Klose also praised Messi’s influence on the game and spoke warmly of Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, a former team-mate when they were together at Lazio.
“Messi is a genius. I also have a lot of respect for the Argentine coach Scaloni. I played with him in Lazio. He showed me the city a little then. We are good friends,” he added.
Mbappe is also getting close
While Messi remains one of the favorites to break the record, French captain Kylian Mbappe is also in strong competition.
The Real Madrid forward has already scored 12 goals in just 14 World Cup appearances, and at 27, he could have more tournaments to challenge for the record if he fails to surpass it in North America.
Argentina begin their World Cup title defense against Algeria before facing Austria and Jordan in their remaining Group B matches.
