Neymar dethrones Pele to become Brazil's all-time leading scorer

BELEM: Neymar Jr broke Pele's record to become Brazil's all-time top goal scorer after scoring a brace against Bolivia in the World Cup Qualifiers. His 61st-minute strike took him past the iconic football star Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pele) to surmount his place at the summit.

His 78th goal was enough to seal his place at the top but, Neymar found the back of the net again to extend his lead at the top. Even though Neymar gained all the plaudits for making history, he still wasn't the best forward for Brazil in their 5-1 victory against Bolivia. Real Madrid's dynamic forward Rodrygo scored twice and registered an assist to orchestrate Bolivia's downfall.

Coming to the match, Brazil had the opportunity to break the stalemate in the 16th minute of the game. They reaped the benefits of putting early attacking pressure and earned a penalty. Neymar stepped up from the spot, but his usual slow run style of taking penalties failed to do its trick.

The keeper guessed Neymar's intentions and jumped in the right direction to stop the ball.

Eight minutes later, Rodrigo opened the scoreline after the keeper parried the ball away, it took a deflection from a defender and fell straight into the young wingers' path who made no mistake from close range.

The first half ended with Brazil having a goal advantage. Two minutes into the second half, Raphinha dazzled around defenders inside the box and struck a shot to find the bottom corner and double Brazil's advantage. 15 minutes later, Rodrygo made it 3-0 with a precise finish from inside the box.

Neymar struck twice in the remaining half an hour to seal a five-star performance from the Selecao and end the game with the scoreline reading 5-1. Neymar will be back in action for Brazil against Peru on Wednesday.