Germany’s all-time World Cup top scorer Miroslav Klose has admitted he expects his long-standing tournament goal record to fall during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with 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 Brazil legend Ronaldo at the 2014 tournament.
However, the former striker believes the expanded 48-team competition increases the likelihood of his achievement being eclipsed.
Klose welcomes Messi challenge
The former Bayern Munich forward 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 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.”
Messi entered the tournament with 13 World Cup goals, leaving him just three strikes away from matching Klose’s tally.
The Argentine, who guided his country to World Cup glory in Qatar four years ago, is expected to play a key role again as Argentina attempt to defend their title.
Klose also praised Messi’s influence on the game and spoke warmly about Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, a former teammate during their time together at Lazio.
“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,” he added.
Mbappe also closing in
While Messi remains one of the favourites to break the record, France captain Kylian Mbappe is also firmly in contention.
The Real Madrid forward has already scored 12 goals in just 14 World Cup appearances and, at 27, could have multiple tournaments to challenge the record if he does not surpass it in North America.
Argentina begin their World Cup title defence against Algeria before facing Austria and Jordan in their remaining Group B fixtures.