Neymar breaks Pele's record, Brazil wins convincingly 5-1.
Neymar made a comeback with a brace against Bolivia and rose to become Brazil's top scorer after their 5-1 victory in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America.
Matching the goalscoring record of "King" Pele in the 2022 World Cup quarter-final with his 77th career goal for the Brazilian national team, on the morning of September 9th, Neymar officially set a new goalscoring record for "Selecao" with a goal that increased the score to 4-0 against Bolivia in the opening match of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the South American region.
In a chaotic situation in the Bolivian penalty area in the 61st minute, Rodrygo was fouled and fell inside the box, but Neymar was quick to react and decisively finished, increasing the score to 4-0 for the home team Brazil. This was Neymar's 78th goal for the Brazilian national team.
Earlier, in a completely dominant performance, Brazil seemed poised to open the scoring in the 17th minute, but superstar Neymar unfortunately missed a penalty. However, the home crowd didn't have to wait long as Rodrygo found the net against Bolivia in the 24th minute. Surprisingly, for the remainder of the first half, despite numerous attacks, the home side Brazil failed to score another goal.
After the break, Brazil pushed forward in attack and doubled their lead in the 47th minute through Raphinha, who was called up as a replacement for Antony in this match. Neymar provided the assist for the Barcelona winger's goal. Goals followed for both teams, first for Rodrygo to make it 3-0, from a pass by Bruno Guimaraes.
Neymar scored the fourth goal for the Selecao in the 61st minute, but Bolivia briefly rekindled their hopes with a 78th-minute strike from Victor Abrego. However, Neymar once again brought joy to the large home crowd at the Edgar Augusto Stadium in Belem with a goal in the 90+3 minute.
