The Paris Saint-Germain forward broke a quarterfinal deadlock against Croatia for his second goal of the 2022 FIFA World Cup after netting a penalty kick against South Korea in the Round of 16.
Widely regarded as the greatest player to come out of his country in this generation, the 30-year-old will be looking to rack up the one goal needed to cement himself in the history books for his country.
Likely to be a key player for his country for several years to come, the possibility of 30-year-old Neymar overtaking Pele as the top-scorer in Brazil’s history seems to be an inevitability at his current rate. Second on the all-time list, the PSG forward has 76 goals in 123 appearances so far.
Here, we take a look at exactly how close Neymar is to break the Brazil scoring record, and examine the fierce competition he has beaten off so far to put himself in contention.
MORE: Brazil’s 2022 World Cup squad
Who has scored the most goals for Brazil?
Brazil’s top scorer for the longest time was the legendary Pele, who scored 77 goals from 91 caps for the national team. Neymar tied him on 77 goals with his World Cup quarterfinal goal against Croatia.
Pele and Neymar are the only two players in the Selecao’s history to cross the 70-goal mark for their nation.
Only two others have crossed the 50-goal mark for Brazil, as Ronaldo and Romario converted 62 and 56 efforts respectively.
Below them, only one other man has managed to score over 40 goals — the legendary Zico (48 goals).
Most Brazil goals all-time list
In addition to the list of players above, there is a group of six players who have scored over 30 goals for the Brazil national side.
Notably, the compilation includes iconic figures such as Ronaldinho and Rivaldo, who will still be fresh in the memory of many football fanatics.
Below, we compile a selection of the top goalscorers in Brazilian international football history.
Neymar Brazil goals
Neymar scored on his debut for Brazil back in 2010 in a 2-0 victory over the United States in New Jersey, setting the tone for a phenomenal international career.
In the following year, he established himself as a key player for Brazil, scoring seven goals in 13 appearances for his nation across competitive and friendly matches. In 2012 and 2013, the 30-year-old scored an incredible 25 goals from 33 appearances, producing his most scintillating form in the iconic yellow jersey to date.
Since then, his best tally in a calendar year is again seven goals from 13 outings, however, he has always been a huge part of Brazil’s chance creation, represented in the fact that he also has 52 assists across the board at international level.
In friendlies, he has been at his most clinical in front of goal, netting 44 goals from 76 appearances. At the World Cup in Qatar, he scored twice across three appearances before Brazil were knocked out in the quarterfinals by Croatia.
