Go to contents

Klose scores his 15th World Cup goal to tie Germany-Ghana match

Klose scores his 15th World Cup goal to tie Germany-Ghana match

Posted June. 23, 2014 06:28,   

한국어

The second Group G match between Germany and Ghana took place at the Castelao Stadium in Fortaleza, Brazil on Sunday. German Coach Joachim Löw (54), who was seen highly anxious near his team’s bench, decided to switch a player in a bold move. When the German team, which was leading the game 1-0, suffered upsets by allowing two consecutive goals to André Ayew (25, Marseille) and Asamoah Gyan (29, Al Ain), Löw replaced Mario Götze, a rookie (22, Bayern Munich) who scored Germany’s first goal, with veteran player Miroslav Klose (36, Lazio).

Klose, the oldest player of the German team, scored a goal at 26th minute in the second half, which is only two minutes after he entered the ground. When a corner kick shot by Toni Kroos (24, Bayern Munich) fell after hitting the head of Benedikt Höwedes (26, Shalke 04), Klose penetrated the right hand side of the goal area and lightly hit the ball to score. Then, Klose performed his signature goal ceremony of somersaulting, driving his teammates and fans at the spectators’ seats to cheer en masse.

The goal not only prevented Germany from losing the game, but also marked his 15th at World Cup events, tying the record of most goals for an individual player set by Cristiano Ronaldo, dubbed the “New soccer emperor.” Klose is the "scoring machine" who scored five goals at the 2002 World Cup Korea-Japan, five goals (the top scorer) at the 2006 event in Germany, and four goals at the 2010 event in South Africa. Any new goals that he scores at the World Cup will become history and legend.

Klose was an “outsider” who came from East Europe in the German team, which pursues ‘pure blood.’ Born in Poland in 1978, he inherited athletic talent from his ex-soccer player father and handball player mother. He moved to Germany at age eight, and lived there as a “person with dual citizenships.” He was invited by then Polish coach Yeji Angel ahead of the 2002 World Cup, but he chose to wear the German uniform in 2001 and lived as a “German.”

Klose, who is tall standing 184 centimeters and physically powerful and holds strong jumping skills, scored a flurry of goals at various events, consolidating his foothold in the German team in a natural fashion. He scored his 69th A-match goal overall in an exhibition match against Armenia early this month after breaking the German record (68 goals) of most goals set by Gerd Muller. With the goal he scored on Sunday, Klose set another record of scoring his 70th A match goal.

“The goal was perfect. Frankly, I don’t remember the last moment when I scored the goal. But I made it. It is not bad to score 15 goals at 20 World Cup matches,” Klose said. “Now, we should concentrate on our final group match against the U.S.”

Coach Löw said, “I was happy because Klose was there. He scored the goal only two minutes after entering the ground. It must have been the happiest moment in his soccer career. He has capability to score a goal any time.” Germany tied the match 2-2, and has now one win and one draw.

Meanwhile, after Klose scored on the day, Ronald uploaded a Twitter post, reading “I welcome you to the club (of players with the most goals in the World Cup). I can imagine how happy Klose would be. Look how beautiful the World Cup it is.”