Catching up with "King" Pele's scoring record in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals with his 77th career goal for Brazil, on the morning of September 9, Neymar officially set a new scoring record for "Selecao" with a goal to raise the score to 4-0 against Bolivia in the opening match of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America.
Neymar and the moment that went down in Brazilian football history
In a chaotic situation in the Bolivian penalty area in the 61st minute, Rodrygo was fouled and fell in the Bolivian penalty area, but Neymar quickly and decisively finished, raising the score to 4-0 for the home team Brazil. This was Neymar's 78th goal for the yellow-green Brazil team.
Neymar missed a penalty in the 17th minute
Before that, in a completely overwhelming match, Brazil seemed to have opened the scoring from the 17th minute, but superstar Neymar unfortunately missed the penalty kick. However, the home crowd did not have to wait long when Rodrygo scored against Bolivia in the 24th minute. Surprisingly, during the rest of the first half, the home team Brazil, despite attacking a lot, still could not score another goal.
Rodrygo scored twice for "Selecao"
After the break, Brazil pushed up their attack and doubled their lead in the 47th minute through Raphinha, who had been called up to replace Antony for the match. Neymar provided the assist for the Barcelona winger to score. The goals followed in quick succession for both teams, first Rodrygo making it 3-0, coming from a pass from Bruno Guimaraes.
Raphinha was excited after scoring the goal to make it 2-0
Neymar scored the fourth goal for Selecao in the 61st minute, but Bolivia managed to rekindle some hope with Victor Abrego's goal in the 78th minute. However, Neymar once again brought joy to the home crowd at the Edgar Augusto Stadium in Belem with a goal in the 90+3rd minute.
Neymar soars after sealing 5-1 win for Brazil
Defeating Bolivia 5-1 at home, Brazil rose to the top of the provisional rankings after the opening match of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers - South America region.
Neymar, who recently joined Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal on a "retirement" contract, made up for his missed penalty kick early in the game with a "double" in the second half to become Brazil's all-time leading scorer with 79 goals.
Federico Valverde (15) and teammates celebrate victory over Chile
Uruguay also started their qualifying campaign well by beating Chile 3-1 at home, giving new coach Marcelo Bielsa his first official win. The big score also helped Uruguay "overtake" world champions Argentina to take provisional second place in the group.
The Brazilian Football Confederation lists Pelé as the player with the most goals in history, with 95 goals in 114 matches. FIFA does not count goals scored by the three-time World Cup winner in friendly matches between the national team and clubs.
Neymar's last appearance for Brazil before the win over Bolivia was the World Cup quarter-final defeat to Croatia. He left Qatar with doubts over his international future and did not play in the Selecao's first three games of the year.
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