Marta surpasses Miroslav Klose to become all-time World Cup leading scorer
Credit: Extratime Team (ETPhotos)
Six-time world player of the year Marta became the leading scorer in World Cup history as she netted for the 17th time against Italy in Valenciennes on Tuesday night.
The Brazilian’s second-half penalty was the only goal of the game as the 2007 finalists topped their group ahead of second-placed Australia and the Italians.
33-year-old Marta, who plays for Orlando Pride in the United States’ NWSL, is competing in her fifth World Cup.
The striker scored in the 3-2 opening day win over Australia and was flawless from the spot after Debinha was taken down by Elena Linari midway through the second half.
That gave Marta the opportunity to register her 17th goal at a World Cup – one clear of Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who held the record coming into the tournament.
146-times-capped Marta made her international debut in 2002 and made her World Cup bow the following year in the United States, scoring three times.
It’s the sixth time on the bounce Brazil have qualified for the knockout stages but the Selecao are yet to win a major intercontinental tournament.
They were beaten by Germany in the World Cup final in 2007, while they were also beaten finalists at both the Athens Olympics in 2004 and Beijing in 2008.
