David Villa and Miroslav Klose will face-off in the second semi-final on Wednesday. —AFP Photos

JOHANNESBURG: David Villa and Miroslav Klose on Sunday were braced for a midweek battle of World Cup goal kings.

German striker Klose now has 14 career World Cup goals and is just one away from equalling Brazil’s Ronaldo as the all-time leading scorer in finals history.

Spanish attacker Villa has five goals in South Africa – one more than Klose’s four in this campaign – and the two men will clash on Wednesday in the semi-finals as the race for the Golden Boot continues.

The 32-year-old Klose hit two goals in Saturday’s 4-0 quarter-finals rout of Argentina to take his career World Cup collection to 14, surpassing Pele’s 12 and the 13 scored by Frenchman Just Fontaine.

He now stands level with German great Gerd Mueller and just a single strike behind Ronaldo.

On Wednesday, Klose will pit his marksmanship against Villa in Durban as Germany take on Spain for a place in the World Cup final.

Klose admits he is stunned to find himself just two goals away from becoming the greatest World Cup scorer of all time.

“I hope Ronaldo isn’t worried by it. We chatted after the 2002 World Cup final (where Brazil beat Germany 2-0 thanks to two goals from Ronaldo) and at that time I never thought I’d be in this situation,” said the Bayern Munich man. —AFP