Author: Soorya G
In a historic achievement on Friday, Brazilian striker Neymar rewrote the history books in his final appearance for the Seleção, becoming the all-time leading international scorer with an impressive 79 goals. The milestone was celebrated with a special plaque given to Neymar after Brazil’s 5-1 win over Bolivia at the Mangueirão Stadium in Belém, Pará.
Neymar’s standout moment came 16 minutes into the second half, witnessed by a crowd of 43,000 fans in the stadium. Neymar, wearing the number 10 shirt, etched his name in history by scoring his 78th goal for the Brazilian national team during qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. He didn’t stand still after the record-breaking moment, scoring another goal in the first moments of the second half.
Expressing his euphoria after reaching this remarkable milestone, Neymar humbly acknowledged the significance of the achievement.“I’m very happy, I’m speechless, I never imagined achieving this record,” he commented. Neymar has made it absolutely clear that he does not consider himself superior in any way to legendary players like Pelé or others who have represented the national team. He only acknowledged that his career goal was to leave a lasting impact on Brazilian soccer and feels that he has done justice to the shirt. Neymar thanked his family and teammates for their support.
Neymar’s illustrious journey began with the youth teams, where he secured the World Cup title with the U-20 team. His triumph with the Olympic team in 2016, marked by a crucial free-kick and a decisive penalty in the final, brought an unprecedented gold medal and stirred the hearts of countless fans across Brazil, especially in the Maracanã. With the senior national team, Neymar took part in three World Cup tournaments, lifting the trophy at the Confederations Cup in 2013, which was held in Brazil.
Neymar is now among the top ten scorers in the history of South American qualifying for the World Cup. He scored 6 goals in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, 8 in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup and has now added another 2 goals to Belene.
Top scorers in South American qualifying history
- Messi (Argentina) 29 goals in 58 games
- Luis Suárez (Uruguay) 29 goals in 61 games
- Marcelo Moreno (Bolivia) 22 goals in 59 games
- Alexis Sanchez (Chile) 20 goals in 56 games
- Crespo (Argentina) 19 goals in 33 games
- Marcelo Salas (Chile) 18 goals in 32 games
- Zamorano (Chile) 17 goals in 24 games
- Cavani (Uruguay) 17 goals in 47 games
- Vidal (Chile) 17 goals in 51 games
- Neymar – 16 goals in 25 games, Joaquin Botero (Bolivia) 16 goals in 31 games, Agustin Delgado (Ecuador) 16 goals in 33 games.