Germany scored Podolski and Klose silenced their critics in style by hitting three-time champion beat Australia 4-0 win at World Cup 2010 on Sunday. Between them Klose the top scorer at the last World Cup and Podolski voted the best young player at Germany 2006, scored just five goals in last seasons German league.
Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose scored in the first 30 minutes as Australia coach Pim Verbeek’s defensive tactics backfired, and Thomas Mueller and Cacau added the others against an overwhelmed Australian defense.
Klose goal was his 11th at World Cup finals and he is the only player in South Africa who can realistically overtake Ronaldo's record of 15 goals in all finals.The strike drew him level with Juergen Klinsmann as Germany’s second most prolific World Cup marksman. Gerd Mueller tops the list with 14 goals.
As an attacking midfielder Podolski has played consistently well for Germany since the last Wodrld Cup and has made the national side's left wing berth his own, while Loew's faith in Klose was repaid with interest.
Australia goalkeeper Schwarzer could only get a glove to Podolski's fierce shot on eight minutes which flew into the back of the net to claim his 39th goal on his 74th appearance. There had been calls in the German press to drop Nayern Munich's Klose, 32, as Germany's lone striker, but the veteran's 26th minute header ended the debate.
He missed an absolute sitter just moments before when Podolski, 25, set him right in front of goal, but he overstretched and howled in rage at missing his shot, but made no mistake seconds late. It was Klose's first goal in the white shirt of Germany since hitting the winner in Moscow last October which booked his side's World Cup berth and was his 49th goal in his 97th appearance for his country.
Klose could easily have scored more as he was denied by Schwarzer from close range before he was replaced by Cacau, who along with Thomas Mueller completed the rout. Germany has not lost an opening match in the World Cup since a 2-1 defeat in 1982 against Algeria and the team never looked like losing on a warm evening in Durban.