Known as the powerhouse of Europe, Germany is one of the most attacking footballing nations. Their football philosophy dictates that they keep on hunting their oppositions irrespective of their strength in the shed. They have not learned to back down and always come up with an exciting brand of football under any circumstance.
Despite a sloppy showdown at Euro 2020 against England in the quarter-final that knocked them out of the tournament, they are still forging an iconic renaissance. It is not easy to switch from a line-up that comprised Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose to one that is constituted by budding footballers.
However, no matter whatever has been the situation, Germany has always proven itself to be a reckoning force throughout the continent. In today’s story, we will take a look at five footballers with the highest number of international goals for Germany.
Players with the highest number of goals for Germany:
4. Jurgen Klinsmann and Rudi Voller – 47 goals
Jurgen Klinsmann was one of the most prolific strikers that Germany came face to face with. Known for his predatory instincts in the box, he was lauded for his stints across major clubs of Europe. He had a brush with illustrious clubs like Bayern Munich, Tottenham Hotspur, Monaco, Inter Milan and VfB Stuttgart. He was a part of West Germany which went on to win the World Cup in 1990 and was also the attacking nexus of the unified German team that lifted the European Championship in 1996. He featured in 108 appearances and managed to grab 47 goals at an average of 0.44.
An icon of Roma and Werder Bremen, Rudi Voller left an indelible mark on the fabric of European and German football. A man whose numbers at the club level read a whopping 257 goals from just 542 appearances, Voller was an absolute beast ahead of the goal. He featured for West Germany and the unified national team of Germany. He played 90 games for the European powerhouse and bagged 47 goals at a decent average of 0.52.
3. Lukas Podolski – 49 goals
A man known for his lethal left-foot, Podolski was one of the most fearsome strikers of the German national team. It was Podolski’s brilliant strike in the 2010 FIFA World Cup that started penning the destruction of the English national side.
A man who had relished notable stints for Munich, Koln, Arsenal and Galatasaray was also a leader of the German attacking unit abreast Miroslav Klose. He played 130 games, from which he went on to smash 49 goals at a stunning average of 0.38. He is currently plying his trade in the Turkish national league for Antalyaspor.
2. Gerd Muller – 68 goals
Muller was one of the rare species of footballers who was an alien to all sorts of fear on the pitch. His exploits in the attacking third were too dazzling for any defenders to handle. He is also of those black swan footballers who managed to score at an average of 1 goal per game which is an extremely rare fact in international football. He played 62 matches for Germany that saw him hammering 68 goals at a stunning average of 1.1 goals per game.
Nicknamed as Der Bomber (bomber of the nation), Muller won the European footballer of the Year in 1970. In 1970, he also won the Golden Boot in the WorldCup for West Germany. In the 1972 European Championship, Muller bagged a brace in the final to propel Germany to the championship while a couple of years later, it was his strike in the final that won West Germany the 1974 World Cup.
1. Miroslav Klose – 71 goals
The man who was a crucial part of the German battery in the opening decade of the 21st century, Miroslav Klose also turned out to be the highest goal-scorer for Germany in its glittering antiquity.
After a decade-long wait, Klose finally won the World Cup in 2014, thanks to a brilliant strike from Mario Gotze that sank a soaring Argentina. He was an integral part of the German national squad that finished second in the 2002 World Cup, third in the 2006 and 2010 World Cup. Under his auspices in the attacking third, Germany also finished as the runners-up in the 2008 Euro Cup and the joint third in the 2012 Euro Cup. He is the joint highest goal-scorer in FIFA World Cup’s glittering past with 16 goals. He has featured in 137 matches for Germany, from which he has smashed 71 goals at a stunning average of 0.52 goals per game.
