79 and counting! Neymar Jr has achieved goalscoring greatness (2024)

The nutmegs are still there, and so are the cheeky flicks, the incredible control in tight spaces and the ability to wriggle his way out of what seems a dead end. Goals sometimes seem like an added extra for Neymar Jr - yet he's now Brazil's all-time leading men’s goalscorer.

Lining up against Bolivia he knew that one more goal would take him past Pelé’s record of 77 and into a league of his own. The magic moment came in the 61st minute when Rodrygo showed some fancy footwork inside the penalty area to create space for Neymar Jr to compose himself and hit a right-foot shot into the bottom corner of the net.

The Al-Hilal forward celebrated in the same style as when he scored his first ever professional goal, an imitation of Pelé’s trademark punch in the air, an emotional tribute to one of the greatest players of all time, who passed away in December.

Neymar Jr, who went on to score another goal late in the game to seal a 5-1 victory, said afterwards: “I’m very happy, I have no words for this."

Already one of the undisputed greats of the Brazilian game, the goals record is further confirmation that Neymar Jr has left his own mark on the beautiful game, something many felt he was always destined to achieve.

He needed only 28 minutes of his international debut to get off the mark as a teenager back in August 2010. Having been left out of Dunga's squad for the 2010 showpiece in South Africa, the 18-year-old opened his account with a powerful header to set Brazil on the way to a 2-0 friendly win over the United States.

Since then, he's been knocking them in for fun. Many of his goals had hints of the futsal he played for much of his childhood, which ingrained in him the close control and the deft, almost delicate finishes. You could see that as early as his first competitive international, against Ecuador in 2011, when Ganso turned and slipped a pass through a pack of Ecuador players and found Neymar Jr, who lifted it past the goalkeeper.

He scored one of the cheekiest goals you're likely to see in a friendly match against the United States in 2015. Having received a diagonal pass from Lucas Moura inside the area, he skipped past two defenders with some nimble footwork. He feigned to shoot into the far corner but instead slotted his shot inside the near post, leaving three defenders and the goalkeeper completely wrong-footed.

His effort in the friendly win over Bolivia in 2013 also stands out, as it's the only time that he and Ronaldinho combined for a goal. Although their careers overlapped, the duo only played together for Brazil on 10 occasions, all of them friendlies.

There have been a few from direct free kicks and the odd flying volley, but his trademark goal is when he runs at the defence and beats the goalkeeper with a deft finish.

Arguably the best of all his Brazil goals came against Paraguay in 2017, which clinched Brazil's place at the following year's tournament in Russia.

Found by Marcelo deep inside the Brazil half, he charged down the touchline, burst past two opponents, advanced into the penalty area, and, as three defenders closed in, he clipped a shot into the net with the help of a deflection. The run was officially measured at 64m.

After the 2018 World Cup, Neymar Jr moved from playing as a winger into a more central role for his country. The new No.10 position gave him added freedom to express his creativity and vision in the middle of the pitch and it was a move that was fruitful in the lead up to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Neymar Jr’s two goals in the competition, including a stunning strike against Croatia in the quarter-final, brought him level with Pelé on 77 goals just two weeks before the 82-year-old passed away.

The two always had a great relationship, especially as they’re both products of Santos, where Pelé spent almost his entire career.

The official Pelé Foundation was quick to praise the achievement of the new record holder. “Congratulations, Neymar Jr, for surpassing the King in goals for the Brazilian National Team in official FIFA matches. Surely Pele is applauding you today!”

Here, we look at the numbers, stats and stories behind the record.

125 – Neymar Jr’s 79 goals for his country have come in just 125 matches

31 – it’s a truly global record with Neymar Jr having scored against 31 different nations

23 – his international career so far has also seen him score in 23 different countries across five continents

34 – scoring the goals wouldn’t be possible without his team-mates and Neymar Jr has been assisted for a goal by 34 different players

21 – the number of penalties Neymar Jr has successfully converted for his country

6 – friendlies, World Cups, Copa Americas, Superclasico de las Americas, Confederations Cup and World Cup Qualifiers are the six different competitions the goals have come in

3 – not all the goals have been with his feet, three have come from headers

1 – incredibly, Brazil have only lost one match in which Neymar Jr has scored. A 3-2 friendly defeat to Germany in 2011

9 – Japan is the country Neymar Jr has scored the most goals against, including four in one game in 2014

15 – scoring more than one goal in a match is not an uncommon occurrence, of the 15 times he has achieved this feat, four have been hat-tricks