WORLD CUP REWIND LARGEST ATTENDANCE AT A MATCH IN THE 1950 BRAZIL FINAL

The 2014 World Cup in Brazil is almost upon us. To get you in the mood for this summer’s tournament, in the week leading up to kick-off, we’ll be taking a look back at the stories behind some of the most significant world records set on the beautiful game’s biggest stage.

Today: The 1950 final in Brazil remains the highest attendance ever at a football match

The way Russia feels about the Miracle on Ice.

The way Britain feels about the Revolutionary War.

The way Alexander Karelin feels about Rulon Gardner.

Wow, sorry, this writer’s American bias got way out of control there!

Anyway, all those emotions – that’s how Brazil still feels about the 1950 FIFA World Cup.

The last time the South American giant hosted the world’s most popular tournament, its people’s passion for the game showed no bounds. In fact, the final match of the 1950 World Cup remains the record holder for not only the largest attendance at a World Cup match, but also the highest at any football/soccer match, period.

Officially, 173,850 paid spectators crammed into Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã Stadium on July 16 to watch host Brazil take on Uruguay for arguably the most prized trophy in world sports.

And Brazil lost.

2-1.

Nearly 200,000 sets of tearful eyes and shattered hearts wondering when their mothers would come wake them up from this national nightmare.

Some estimates have even pegged the attendance as high as 199,000 or 210,000 unofficially. Those claims state that thousands had entered the stadium illegally and without tickets, just to witness what was certain to be Brazil’s first World Cup triumph happen on home soil.

And why wouldn't those fans believe it?

The tournament final was decided by a four-team final group, as opposed to the knockout format we know today. Amazingly, Brazil had crushed its first two finals opponents, Sweden and Spain, by a combined 13-2 score.

All it required was to draw against its much tinier neighbor to the south and the Jules Rimet Trophy would sit with the Seleção.

Brazilian newspaper O Mundo even printed an early edition claiming the Brazil squad the world champions. There isn’t a perfect translation for “bulletin board material” in Portuguese, but this was basically it.

Some of the shockwaves from the surprise result in front of the record crowd reverberate to this day.

The term “Maracanazo” remains used in Latin American soccer to this day in describing a mammoth upset.

The 22 gold medals commissioned by the Brazilian Football Confederation for its squad have proven that you don’t etch names on trophies until after the final whistle.

And the famous yellow shirt that Brazil has turned into a universal cloak of destruction over the last 60 years? That came about as part of a uniform redesign after the “cursed” home white shirts worn in the 1950 final were discarded forever.

This year’s World Cup will see no threat to the single-game attendance record.

The modernized Maracanã remains the largest-capacity venue in the competition, but holds a “mere” 73,531 spectators. And stadium ticket policies have grown just a little stricter since 1950.

What Brazil hopes, though, is that even if fewer people will see the final in person, they’ll do so smiling at a different result.

WORLD CUP REWIND ANDRES INIESTA PLAYS THE HERO WITH LAST-DITCH GOAL AT SOUTH AFRICA 2010

The 2014 World Cup in Brazil is almost upon us. To get you in the mood for this summer’s tournament, in the week leading up to kick-off, we’ll be taking a look back at the stories behind some of the most significant world records set on the beautiful game’s biggest stage.

Today: Andres Iniesta saves Spain with the latest match-winning goal in a FIFA World Cup final

One of the most famous quotes in sports reads as such:

“For when the One Great Scorer comes to mark against your name, he writes not that you won or lost, but how you played the game.”

Um, don’t tell that to 2010 World Cup champion Spain.

As part of our weeklong preview for this month’s World Cup in Brazil, we’ve already looked at a number of records from the tournament’s history, including the fastest sending off in a World Cup match yesterday.

But today we travel to the other end of the spectrum.

The last World Cup saw La Furia Roja crowned as champions, the nation’s first time lifting the trophy. It completed the exorcism of decades’ worth of underachievement that began with the Spanish conquest of Euro 2008.



To get its fingers around the prize, Spain relied on midfielder Andres Iniesta’s record-breaking heroics. His goal in the 116th minute against the Netherlands is the latest match-winning goal in a FIFA World Cup final.

As if the theatrics of a title-winning goal in overtime weren't already enough, it marked the only score of the game. Spain walked away from the steel cage match of a final as 1-0 victors.

Iniesta’s goal reads as historic poetry, but belies the Spanish strategy in that tournament of turning every game into a rock fight.

The now-famous tiki-taka­ style manifested itself in a swashbuckling debut at Euro 2008 (see: 8 goals in the opening round and a 3-0 evisceration of Russia in the semifinals). But in South Africa, Spain used the possession-heavy style to put opponents through the meat grinder.



The miniscule eight total goals scored in their seven matches played are the fewest goals ever scored in a World Cup by the winning squad. The three total goalscorers (David Villa, Carlos Puyol, and Iniesta) is also the all-time low for a title winner.

And considering Spain allowed a record-low two goals all tournament (one of which came in its opening match), anyone who remembers watching the competition outside the Iberian remembers the conflicting feeling of marveling so much at a team you received no enjoyment from watching.

Iniesta’s fateful right foot put it all to bed.



With the clock ticking both literally and figuratively on its chances to not tempt penalties against the Dutch, Spain saw its diminutive midfield piston etch his nation’s name in history.

Spain certainly did not play the game in a way many of us may have enjoyed in 2010. But ask Andres Iniesta and Co. how they feel about having to settle for whether they won or lost.

Earlier articles:
World Cup Rewind: Ronaldo sets all-time goals world record

World Cup Rewind: Just Fontaine still owns the most goals in a single tournament

World Cup Rewind: America goes crazy for soccer in 1994

World Cup Rewind: Hakan Şükür scores the tournament’s fastest ever goal

World Cup Rewind: Jose Batista clocks up the fastest ever sending off

And for the latest on all things world record, visit Guinness World Records on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and our brand-new Instagram. Plus check out Guinness World Records on YouTube to subscribe for the latest record-breaking videos!

WORLD CUP REWIND JOSÉ BATISTA CLOCKS UP THE FASTEST EVER SENDING OFF

The 2014 World Cup in Brazil is almost upon us. To get you in the mood for this summer’s tournament, in the week leading up to kick-off, we’ll be taking a look back at the stories behind some of the most significant world records set on the beautiful game’s biggest stage.

Today: Uruguay's José Batista and the fastest expulsion from a FIFA World Cup match

So far during this series of features we’ve taken a look back at some of the most celebrated achievements at previous World Cups. However today’s installment looks back at an altogether less glorious moment in footballing history.

Going into the 1986 World Cup, Uruguayan defender José Batista had been lauded as nothing less than a hero, having scored a crucial goal in a 2–1 home triumph over Chile which had help ensure his country’s qualification for the tournament in Mexico.

Uruguay had been tipped as something of an outside bet by some experts ahead of the 86 World Cup, but had been drawn in what was dubbed the tournaments ‘group of death’ alongside an imperious Denmark, eventual finalists West Germany, and Scotland, who were led by Sir Alex Ferguson in the wake of Jock Stein’s tragic death.

The South Americans nevertheless left their mark during Group A’s early encounters, with Uruguay coming under fierce criticism for their overly physical approach during their opening game, a 0-0 draw against the Germans.

Their next match would see them hammered 6-1 by the Michael Laudrup-led Danes, leaving them in need of a result in their final group match against the similarly placed Scots in order to secure qualification to the next round.

While it wouldn’t be entirely accurate to say Uruguay came out fighting for their showdown with Scotland at the Estadio Neza stadium, the game’s infamous first minute showed the tournament’s bad boys had no intention of toning down their aggression.

After just 56 seconds, Jose Batista launched into scything, high-studded lunge on opposing midfielder Gordon Strachan.

Calling a stretcher for the clearly injured Strachan, French referee Joel Quiniou showed no hesitation in brandishing a red card for the cynical challenge, ensuring Batista’s notoriety along with his place in Guinness World Records history for receiving the fastest dismissal in World Cup history.



Strachan was able to play on, but was unable to assert his influence on the game, which descended into an ill-tempered affair with the Scottish incensed by continued bad challenges and the time wasting tactics deployed by the Uruguayans.

Despite having a one-man advantage for nearly the whole match, the game ended 0-0 and Scotland were eliminated.

Uruguay were fined £9,000 by FIFA following the match for their behaviour in the game along with their earlier antics against West Germany, with a warning that a repeat would lead to their expulsion from the tournament.

They were eventually knocked out in the second round to the tournament’s eventual winners Argentina in a 1-0 defeat once again littered with ill-tempered moments and nasty challenges.

Earlier articles:
World Cup Rewind: Ronaldo sets all-time goals world record

World Cup Rewind: Just Fontaine still owns the most goals in a single tournament

World Cup Rewind: America goes crazy for soccer in 1994

World Cup Rewind: Hakan Şükür scores the tournament’s fastest ever goal

For the latest on all things world record, visit Guinness World Records on Facebook,Twitter, Google+ and our brand-new Instagram. Plus check out Guinness World Records onYouTube to subscribe for the latest record-breaking videos!

WORLD CUP REWIND HAKAN ŞÜKÜR SCORES THE TOURNAMENT’S FASTEST EVER GOAL

The 2014 World Cup in Brazil is almost upon us. To get you in the mood for this summer’s tournament, in the week leading up to kick-off, we’ll be taking a look back at the stories behind some of the most significant world records set on the beautiful game’s biggest stage.

Today: Turkey striker Hakan Şükür and the fastest World Cup goal of all time

The 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea is often regarded as the ‘World Cup of shocks’.

Defending World Cup champions France, who also secured glory in the European Championships two years earlier in 2000, were defeated by Senegal in their first match and exited the tournament at the group stage securing just one point.

Argentina and Portugal also failed to reach the knockout stages. A further shock was that England weren’t defeated by penalties.

Hosts Japan and South Korea both advanced to the knockout rounds with the latter miraculously reaching the last four where they were eliminated by Germany.

With every high, however, there must be a low and South Korea were on the receiving end of one particular record breaking feat: the Fastest goal in a football (soccer) FIFA World Cup match.

The record-breaking strike was to come in the 3rd place playoff when Turkey’s captain and talisman Hakan Şükür pressed and pounced on some sluggish defending from Hong Myung-bo in the Korean defence to score after just 10.8 seconds.

You could possibly excuse Hong Myung-bo and his teammates for this particular mistake after their astonishing achievement at reaching this stage, but this didn’t stop Şükür from wheeling away in delight as his quick thinking and predatory instinct helped earn himself a spot in the record books.

The moment was all about Şükür. Despite being tipped as a player to watch ahead of the World Cup, he had failed to net a single goal during the entire tournament prior to his record breaking achievement. The relief was all too clear to see in his celebration after his history-making strike.

"The goal was late in coming - I had to wait until today.” He was quoted in saying shortly after the match.

To put Şükür’s achievement into context with other fastest goals scored in the football arena, he betters: the fastest goal in a UEFA European Championships (1 min 7 sec scored by Dimitri Kirichenko (Russia) Greece vs Russia first round match) and the fastest Champions League final goal (52 seconds by Paolo Maldini (Italy) playing for AC Milan against Liverpool).

His achievement, however, is slower than both Roy Makaay (fastest Champions League goal in 10 seconds for Bayern Munich v Real Madrid in 2007) and Ledley King (fastest football (soccer) goal in the Premier League after 8 seconds for Tottenham Hotspur v Bradford City in 2000)

Nicknamed the "Bull of the Bosphorus", Şükür enjoyed an illustrious career of 20 years on both the international and domestic front. With Turkey, he amassed 51 goals in total making him their leading goalscorer of all time. He also captained his country on 30 separate occasions, most notably at the 2002 World Cup.

At club level, he made 540 appearances for seven clubs in Europe scoring 258 goals in the process. Şükür’s most successful and prominent period of his club career came at Turkish giants Galatasaray who he played for in three separate spells (1992 – 1995, 1996 – 2000 and 2003 – 2008), accumulating 392 appearances,  and was where he ended his career in 2007.

Şükür, who is of Kosovar-Albanian origin, scored 217 goals during his time at the club, winning the” Gol Kralı” (Turkey top goal scorer award) on three separate occasions and secured 14 major club honours.

He was a physically strong striker who also possessed a great talent in being in the right place at the right time. A real poacher you could argue which is somewhat of a dying art in the modern game today. Over the years he also scored some fine – and important - headed goals.

Despite the successes in his homeland, Şükür struggled elsewhere – in particular in Italy and England after moves to Inter Milan and Blackburn Rovers respectively.

It is also argued that, despite scoring 51 goals for his country, he failed to deliver on the biggest international stage and this can be backed up in the sense that he only scored three goals in three separate tournaments.

This, however, failed to overshadow his successes at Galatasaray and his reputation as one of the best goal-scoring talents the country has ever produced.

The 2002 World Cup would prove to be his final major international tournament appearance. He would continue playing for his country for a further five years, making his 112th and final appearance for Turkey in a 1-0 loss to Greece in a Euro 2008 qualifier in 2007 at the age of 36.

Retirement from all forms of the game soon followed at the end of the 2007-2008 season, where he helped his most notable club, Galatasaray, to domestic league glory.

To this day, he is still a heavily discussed and prominent figure who, after a career in football, turned to politics and was elected as a Member of Parliament to the Turkish Parliament in the 2011 General Elections. He has since, however, stepped down from this position but still performs as an MP independently.

So, with the benchmark set ahead of the World Cup, which starts next week, with the time to beat standing at 10.8 seconds, will this be one of many records broken at the 2014 World Cup?

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, are you ready?

World Cup Rewind: Ronaldo sets all-time goals world record

World Cup Rewind: Just Fontaine still owns the most goals in a single tournament

World Cup Rewind: America goes crazy for soccer in 1994

For the latest on all things world record, visit Guinness World Records on Facebook,Twitter, Google+ and our brand-new Instagram. Plus check out Guinness World Records onYouTube to subscribe for the latest record-breaking videos!

WORLD CUP REWIND AMERICA GOES CRAZY FOR SOCCER IN 1994

Has it really been 20 years since the World Cup invaded U.S. soil?

It doesn’t feel that long since the Summer of Lalas, but indeed, doing the math, it’s hard to believe that two decades have passed since Romario roamed the pitch and All-4-One terrorized the charts.

A lot of people have taken the occasion of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil to commemorate that 1994 edition. Paint us no different.

As part of our record-breaking look back at World Cup history, today we focus on that 1994 tournament, which remains the holder for largest attendance at a FIFA World Cup.

Yesterday: World Cup Rewind: Just Fontaine still owns the most goals in a single tournament

In a tournament that truly ran from sea to shining sea – with venues stretching from as far east as Foxborough, Massachusetts, to as far west as the San Francisco area – 3,587,538 spectators passed through the turnstiles of the nine stadiums.

That’s the most ever for a single World Cup, and the per-game average of 68,991 remains the highest mean for a tournament, too, aided by massive venues like the Pontiac Silverdome.

Amazingly, the record has held despite the World Cup since expanding from 24 teams to 32, and the total number of games played from 52 to 64.

The residual effects of the tournament can still be seen today. America now boasts the most youth soccer players of any nation, at more than 3 million. That number doubled betwen 1990-2010. Major League Soccer - founded as part of the 1994 bid and debuting in 1996 - has grown from 10 teams with no dedicated stadiums to 19 clubs with four more on the way, and 14 current soccer-specific grounds.

It helped that the matches of 1994 were all played in American football stadiums, marking the first real global marriage between “football” and football. It also helped that the largest of them all, Pasadena’s famous Rose Bowl, hosted the most matches. The 91,374-seat field saw eight games decided there, including the final and one semifinal.

But the secret to the 1994 World Cup's success is that it hit America at the perfect time. The team had already participated in Italy ’90 and, despite not winning a match, afforded the American public four years of awareness to get psyched for Tony Meola, Eric Wynalda, and Cobi Jones.

As an 8-year-old that summer, I remember having never watched a soccer game in my life. They couldn’t use their hands, so what kind of silly sport could this possibly be?

But the sheer magnitude of the event, the never-ending spectacle, and the thought that the entire world had its eyes trained on my country – it felt like a month-long circus. And by the end, while I couldn’t have picked Gabriel Batistuta out of a lineup of two, I sat glued to my TV to watch Roberto Baggio sail a finals-deciding penalty into the sun-kissed California crowd.



Obviously, the rest of America joined me in this rapture.

The booming Clinton administration was off and running, and the U.S. sat primed to welcome this international curiosity to its home. With the '90s as the first decade in which the world truly started shrinking into the global village we know it as today, it only made sense to marry the planet’s favorite game with the decade's pre-eminent cultural flag-bearer as host.

Or maybe everyone just wanted to show up to see the amazing stonewashed American jerseys and time-bending mullets.

Related articles:
World Cup Rewind: Ronaldo sets all-time goals world record

World Cup Rewind: Just Fontaine still owns the most goals in a single tournament

For the latest on all things world record, visit Guinness World Records on Facebook,Twitter, Google+ and our brand-new Instagram. Plus check out Guinness World Records onYouTube to subscribe for the latest record-breaking videos!

WORLD CUP REWIND JUST FONTAINE STILL OWNS THE MOST GOALS IN A SINGLE TOURNAMENT

The 2014 World Cup in Brazil is almost upon us. To get you in the mood for this summer’s tournament, in the week leading up to kickoff, we’ll be taking a look back at the stories behind some of the most significant world records set on the beautiful game’s biggest stage.

Today: France's Just Fontaine and his magical 1958 tournament.

Looking back at the 1958 World Cup is like stepping through the closet that takes you to Narnia. None of it makes sense.

They held playoffs to find out who escaped the group stages?

The countries were seeded in pots based on geography?

The man who scored the most goals ever in a single World Cup tournament didn’t even make the team of the tournament as selected by journalists?!

Amazingly, that’s the case of Just Fontaine, the French striker to whom we dedicate today’s piece of our World Cup preview.



We’ve already told you yesterday about Ronaldo, the Brazilian phenom who owns the record for most goals scored in a World Cup career with 15.

But the story of Fontaine’s singular 1958 performance is perhaps even more legendary.

Fontaine scored 13 goals in Sweden that year, across the six matches that France played. It remains the high-water mark for the most goals scored in a single World Cup tournament. Amazingly, it was the only World Cup in which Fontaine would ever play. And, despite more than a half century having passed, his tally of 13 in one tournament still has him sitting third all-time on the career goals list.

That's Fontaine pictured up top, in 1978, posing with his Golden Boot.



To put it in perspective, Ronaldo needed 19 matches across three World Cups to earn his 15. Miroslav Klose and Gerd Mueller – the German duo tied for second with 14 each – required 19 and 13 matches, respectively, to hit their marks. Again, Fontaine needed only six. That’s a ballistic 2.17 goals per game average, the second-highest of any player to have ever scored 10 or more goals in a World Cup career (Hungary’s Sandor Kocsis hit 2.2/game with 11 goals in five matches in 1954).

Fontaine netted a hat trick in France’s opening match, then proceeded to score in every game for Les Bleus thereafter. And he didn’t simply load up in one or two matches. He scored multiple times in four of the six contests, including a four-goal virtuosity against defending champs West Germany in the third-place game.



Sadly, Fontaine’s career was cut short at just 28 years old due to chronic injury. But he showed across a mere three weeks in the Swedish summer of ’58 the kind of historic touch he held in those boots.

And yet, to revisit the point, Fontaine still couldn’t even crack the media’s all-tournament team. This was despite earning more votes than any other forward. The reason? The votes for Fontaine were split between the “inside forward” and “outside forward” position, meaning he didn’t have enough at one position to make the squad.

Like I said – none of it made sense.

Related articles:
World Cup Rewind: Ronaldo sets all-time goals world record

For the latest on all things world record, visit Guinness World Records on Facebook,Twitter, Google+ and our brand-new Instagram. Plus check out Guinness World Records onYouTube to subscribe for the latest record-breaking videos!

WORLD CUP REWIND RONALDO SETS ALL-TIME GOALS WORLD RECORD

The 2014 World Cup in Brazil is almost upon us. To get you in the mood for this summer’s tournament, over the next seven days we’ll be taking a look back at the stories behind some of the most significant World Records set on the beautiful game’s biggest stage.

We kick off with one of the home nation’s most celebrated footballing heroes, Ronaldo, and his Guinness World Records title for Most FIFA World Cup finals goals by a football player.

For more than a decade Ronaldo was Brazil’s main hitman.

Unparalleled power, pace to scare any defence and a ruthlessness in front of goal that many looked at in awe; Ronaldo was very much the all-round package.

His list of footballing honours reads more like a bibliography, having set the world alight at some of the biggest clubs including Inter Milan, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

He also stands as one of only ten players to have won the FIFA World Player of the Year award on more than one occasion, joining the likes of Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten and Lionel Messi, having taken the Ballon d'Or in 1997 and again in 2002.

Arguably more impressive is the fact that he holds one of football’s most prestigious Guinness World Records titles - Most FIFA World Cup finals goals by a football (soccer) player, having hit the back of the net 15 times on soccer’s greatest stage (four times during France 98, eight in 2002 in Japan/South Korea and scoring three times during Germany 06).

Born Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima on the 18 September 1976, he began his playing career at Cruzeiro, making his league debut on 7 September 1993 against Corinthians, two weeks before his 17th birthday.



In his first season he notched up an impressive 12 goals in 14 appearances. It was a feat that brought him to the attention of the national team, with his burgeoning reputation seeing him selected for Brazil’s triumphant USA ‘94 World Cup squad.

While he did not make an appearance during the tournament, Ronaldo’s status as one of the game’s hottest talents was ensured, with the teenager making the move to European football shortly afterwards with a transfer to Dutch side PSV Eindhoven.

This was followed by a move to Spanish giants Barcelona two years later for a then world record fee of $19.5 million, before a move to Inter Milan just a year later for another record-setting fee of $27 million.

With the hype surrounding his talents at its height, Ronaldo entered the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France billed by reporters and experts as the world's greatest footballer.

He would have to wait until Brazil’s second group stage match against Morocco to open his World Cup scoring account, thundering home a precise drive in the 9th minute in an eventual 3-0 win. This was followed with a brace against Chile in the second round and a trademark finish in the box against the Netherlands in the semi-finals.



The eventual final in Paris against France was marred by controversy, with Ronaldo’s name left off the team sheet, only to reappear just in time for kick-off amid rumours that he had suffered a seizure in the build-up to the match.

Looking decidedly below-par, Ronaldo was subsequently eclipsed by Zinedine Zidane in a one-sided match that saw France crowned world champions for the first time.

Following the tournament, Ronaldo reinforced his reputation as the world’s best striker at club level, and was in scintillating form for Inter Milan before rupturing a tendon in his knee during a Serie A match against Lecce in November 1999.

Disaster struck just nine minutes into his comeback match the following April, when he suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament in the same knee.

The devastating injury kept Ronaldo out of Brazil's entire qualification campaign for the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea where, in his absence, the team was far from impressive.

His return from injury in time for the tournament was nothing short of sensational, with Ronaldo proving to be the inspiration as Brazil lifted the World Cup for the fifth time.

Making up the "three R's", alongside formidable attacking partners Rivaldo and Ronaldinho, Ronaldo ended the tournament as top scorer with eight goals, having scored against every opponent in the tournament except in the quarter-finals against England.



In the final against Germany in Yokohama, Japan, Ronaldo scored twice and tied Pelé's Brazilian record of 12 career World Cup goals.



His display during the tournament ensured another big money move, this time to Real Madrid for €46 million.

Despite growing criticism of his weight and fitness, coach Carlos Alberto Parreira nevertheless named Ronaldo in the starting line-up for Brazil during the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

With his two goals against Japan in the third match of the tournament, he became the 20th player ever to score in three different FIFA World Cups. More significantly, he would go on to break  Gerd Müller's World Cup finals scoring world record with his 15th and final World Cup goal in the second round match against Ghana.



Brazil would eventually get knocked out by France 1–0 with a goal from striker Thierry Henry in the quarter-finals, but Ronaldo had nevertheless made his own piece of footballing history during the tournament.

A final move to a big European club would follow in 2007 to AC Milan before Ronaldo eventually ended his playing career four years later whilst at Brazilian side Corinthians, succumbing to the knee injuries which had blighted him throughout his career.



He now splits his time between being co-owner of motorsports team A1 Brazil and as a regular player on the international poker circuit.

During a recent interview with Football Italia, Ronaldo admitted that he expects his record to be beaten during this year’s World Cup in his home country of Brazil.

Germany’s Miroslav Klose stands just one goal behind his total of 15 and Ronaldo accepts that the Lazio forward will likely surpass him at this summer’s tournament.

“Klose is 35 years old, he could have already stopped playing!” he jests.

“All joking aside, I am proud of my career and of the records I set. But I know that one day they will be broken.”

“It would be nice to keep it for a while longer but I am cheering for someone to break the record. It will be good for the sport.’”

With Klose named as Germany’s only recognised out-and-out striker in their World Cup squad for this year’s tournament, the Lazio forward looks certain to get the game time needed to set a new record.



Klose sounded confident when speaking to Fifa.com earlier this month about his chances of taking the record: “I assume I will be 100 per cent ready for the tournament. I feel good and I'm on the right path”, he said

“The fitness coaches know me very well and they know exactly what I need, so everything is moving in the right direction”,

“For me, the main thing is to be fit and the most important thing is the team," he said. "I am convinced that when the team plays well, then the striker will also get his chances. But anyone who knows me is aware that the goal record is a target of mine”.