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Germany will be heading to Qatar in November to take part in their 20th World Cup. They are four-time winners of the tournament, having won it in 1954, 1974, 1990, and 2014.
It is a nation with a great history in the sport and is home to several of its best players. However, in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Germany failed to get past the group stage, so there is plenty of room for improvement for Hansi Flick.
Die Mannschaft have boasted some of the greatest players, especially goalscorers, in world football over the years.
Mentioned below are Germany's top five goalscorers of all time. These players have played for historic teams during their careers, and most of them have won it all.
There are no active national team players on the list, but Thomas Müller is ranked seventh with 44 goals and could break into the top five. Without further ado, let’s get to the list.
#5 Jürgen Klinsmann - 47 goals
Jürgen Klinsmann made 108 appearances for Germany during his brilliant career. He was part of the World Cup-winning team in 1990 and won the Euros in 1996 as well.
He started his club career at Stuttgart and moved to Inter Milan in the early 90s. He never stayed at a club for too long and was always on the move. Klinsmann even dipped his toes in the Premier League while playing for Tottenham Hotspur.
Klinsmann was a clinical striker and managed 30 or more goals for most of the clubs he signed for. Post-retirement, he managed Germany and led them to a third-place finish in the 2006 World Cup.
More recently, Klinsmann has worked as a pundit for ESPN and is likely to be at the World Cup fulfilling those duties.
#4 Rudi Völler - 47 goals
Rudi Völler won the World Cup with Germany in 1990 and made 90 appearances for the national team.
Völler spent most of his club career at Werder Bremen and AS Roma but failed to win the Bundesliga or Serie A with those teams. He did manage to win the UEFA Champions League with Marseille in 1993 during the tail end of his career.
Völler retired at Bayer Leverkusen and became their sporting director. He subsequently became their manager and even managed Germany from 2000 to 2004. He is presently back as the sporting director for Bayer Leverkusen.
Völler played during an era of great German strikers. However, he cemented his name in the country's history, having not played at Bayern Munich, and that is an achievement.
#3 Lukas Podolski - 49 goals
Lukas Podolski was born in Poland but is a German citizen. He made 130 appearances for the national team and won the World Cup in 2014, having finished third in 2006 and 2010.
He started his club career at Köln before Bayern Munich signed him in 2006 after he impressed as a young player during the World Cup. At Bayern, he won the Bundesliga, but he was back at Köln by 2009.
He spent three years at Arsenal before playing in Italy, Turkey, and Japan.
At 37 years old, Podolski plays for Górnik Zabrze in the Polish Ekstraklasa.
Injuries hampered what could have been a glorious club career, but he always turned up for the national team. In his prime, Podolski was a great finisher and possessed a strong shot capable of reaching top speeds. A true German striker.
#2 Gerd Müller - 68 goals
Gerd Müller is widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers football has ever seen. He made 62 appearances for the national team and managed to score 68 goals, which in itself is a great accomplishment.
He won the World Cup in 1974 and the Euros in 1972 and dominated European football with Bayern Munich. Müller made 606 appearances for the German giants, scoring 556 goals.
Germany at the time was divided into East and West due to the Cold War, and Müller played for West Germany. His goal-scoring prowess won him the Ballon d'Or in 1970 and many plaudits from across the world.
Müller was a short player but was lethal within the box thanks to his low center of gravity. Der Bomber, as people affectionately called him, passed away in 2021. A legend of the game.
#1 Miroslav Klose - 71 goals (Germany's top goalscorer)
Miroslav Klose made 137 appearances for Germany during his career and also broke Gerd Müller's goalscoring record. He won the World Cup in 2014 during the tail end of a glorious career.
He started his club career at Kaiserslautern but rose to fame at Werder Bremen. Bayern Munich naturally had to sign one of Germany's best strikers, and he won two Bundesliga titles at the club.
Klose left to play for Lazio in Serie A in 2011 and retired at the club in 2016.
Klose currently manages Rheindorf Altach in the Austrian Bundesliga.
He was a strong and instinctive finisher known for his acrobatic celebrations. He was also known for his fair play, most famously asking the referee to rule out goals because he handled the ball. A brilliant role model for young players and a great striker.
