With his goal against Bolivia on Friday, Neymar surpassed Pele as Brazil’s all-time leading scorer, bringing his total to 78 goals and taking over the record formerly held by Pele.
The forward, who was playing for Brazil in his 125th match, had a chance to break the record in the 17th minute of the South American World Cup qualifier, but his penalty kick was saved. This was the forward’s 125th match for Brazil.
Neymar pounced on a loose ball in the area in the 61st minute and confidently blasted a shot with his right foot into the back of the net to put his team up 4-0 in the game they were playing in Belem.
The former Barcelona striker, who is now 31 years old and plays for the Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal, recently made the move from Paris Saint-Germain.
Pele, who passed away in December at the age of 82, played for Brazil 92 times between the years 1957 and 1971 and scored 77 goals.