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Rio de Janeiro, July 9 (IANS) Germany's Miroslav Klose has become the all-time highest goal scorer in the World Cup after he struck in the 23rd minute in his team's shocking runaway 7-1 victory over Brazil in the 2014 World Cup Tuesday.
Klose, with his 16th goal, has overtaken Brazilian Ronaldo (15) and is two goals ahead of compatriot Gerd Muller. This is Klose’s fourth and in all probability, his final World Cup. In his first ever tournament in 2002, he scored five goals leading Germany all the way to the final.
In his second tournament in 2006 which was held at his home nation, Klose once again scored five goals, winning the golden boot in the process. But it was a bittersweet moment for him as his side crashed out in the semi-finals.
The 2010 tournament saw a repeat of the previous tournament as Germany got knocked out in the semi-finals again with Klose scoring four. With just one short of equalling Ronaldo’s record, he entered this tournament as Germany’s oldest player in the squad and has seen his team make it to the final yet again. He would now be hoping to go out with a bang when they take on the winner between Argentina and Netherlands on Sunday.
Leading World Cup career scorers (placing, name, team, years, number of goals)
1. Miroslav Klose, Germany, (2002-14) 16
2. Ronaldo, Brazil, (1998-06) 15
3. Gerd Mueller, West Germany, (1970-74) 14
4. Just Fontaine, France, (1958) 13
5. Pele, Brazil, (1958-70) 12
6. Sandor Kocsis, Hungary, (1954) 11
6. Jurgen Klinsmann, Germany, (1990-98) 11
8. Helmut Rahn, West Germany, (1954-58) 10
8. Teofilo Cubillas, Peru, (1970-78) 10
8. Gregorz Lato, Poland, (1974-82) 10
8. Gary Lineker, England, (1986-90) 10
8. Gabriel Batistuta, Argentina, (1994-02) 10
8. Thomas Mueller, Germany, (2010-14) 10
14. Ademir, Brazil, (1950) 9
14. Vava, Brazil, (1958-62) 9
14. Uwe Seeler, West Germany, (1958-70) 9
14. Eusebio, Portugal, (1966) 9
14. Jairzinho, Brazil, (1970-74) 9
14. Paolo Rossi, Italy, (1978-82) 9
14. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, West Germany, (1978-86) 9
14. Roberto Baggio, Italy, (1986-98) 9
14. Christian Vieri, Italy, (1998-02) 9
14. David Villa, Spain, (2006-14) 9
