Hours before the debut of the Argentine National Team in the 2026 World Cup against Algeria, Miroslav Klose surprised with a statement that quickly spread through the football world. The former German striker, holder of the goal record in World Cup history, expressed his wish that Lionel Messi achieves and surpasses his mark during the tournament taking place in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Far from clinging to a record he has held since Brazil 2014, Klose was open to another player taking his place at the top of the historical table. "I hope my record is broken in this tournament. Messi is welcome to do it. I am a big admirer of his, I always have been", he stated in an interview with the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.
The former scorer also considered that the new World Cup format favors the possibility of breaking historical statistics. "With more teams, there are more matches and, therefore, more opportunities to score", he explained.
Klose closed his World Cup career with 16 goals, a figure that made him the top scorer of the competition. Meanwhile, Messi has accumulated 13 goals in five World Cups and comes into this edition with mathematical possibilities of approaching the German's mark. If the Argentine captain scores one goal, he will equal the record of the German legend Gerd Müller. With two goals, he will match Ronaldo Nazário in second place historically, while he will need four to surpass Klose.
During the interview, the German also praised the Rosario player, whom he considered a "genius," and the coach of the Argentine National Team, Lionel Scaloni, with whom he shared a team at Lazio during his time in Italian football. "I have great respect for him; we played together at Lazio and he showed me the city. We are good friends", he commented.
