Klose Backs Messi to Break His World Cup Scoring Record

Miroslav Klose says he hopes Lionel Messi can surpass his all-time World Cup scoring record at the 2026 tournament. Argentina begins its World Cup campaign against Algeria in the early hours of Wednesday, and the German legend is openly rooting for Messi to make history.

Klose, the tournament’s record holder with 16 World Cup goals, called Messi “a genius” and said, “He is more than welcome to do it.” He added that he has always been a fan and that he wants his own record broken, noting that the expanded World Cup format creates more matches and more scoring chances. He also said he hopes both Argentina and France go far, because Kylian Mbappe could also challenge the mark.

Messi already has 13 World Cup goals across five tournaments. One more would tie Gerd Muller at 14, two would move him past Ronaldo Nazario into second place with 15, and four goals in this tournament would put him above Klose at the top of the list.

Klose also praised Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, with whom he played at Lazio. “We have a lot of respect for each other. We played together at Lazio and he showed me the city, Rome. We are good friends,” Klose said. The article also notes that Klose beat Argentina in the 2006 and 2010 World Cup quarterfinals and in the 2014 final.