Neymar has moved past the legendary Ronaldo to become Brazil‘s second highest goalscorer in history in a 4-2 win over Peru in their FIFA World Cup qualifier on Tuesday in Lima. Neymar scored a hat-trick to take his international tally to 64 and is now just behind Pele who scored 77 goals.
Neymar converted a spot-kick in the 28th minute to equalise after Peru had taken a 1-0 lead through Andre Carrillo.
In the second half, Renato Tapia restored Peru’s lead but Richarlison brought Brazil back on level terms.
Neymar then converted another penalty seven minutes before full time to put Brazil ahead and then rounded off the victory with a third strike in the injury time.
Peru were reduced to 10-men after Carlos Zambrano was shown the red card late into the contest.
Ronaldo scored 62 goals in 98 matches for Brazil during a 17-year career that saw him twice lifting the FIFA World Cup trophy.
Legendary Brazilian goalkeeper Taffarel was effusive in his praise for the 28-year-old Neymar.
“[Neymar is] a great player,” Taffarel told the official FIFA website. “He plays the game in a beautiful way. He’s an incredible dribbler, sets up goals, scores fantastic goals. He’s very important for us. We really hope he can be at his best and help Brazil win another World Cup. He’s a superstar.”
“I cheered a lot for Paris [in the Champions League final] because of the Brazilians who play there. I really wanted Neymar to win this Champions League and, consequently, The Best FIFA [Men’s Player] award. But it’s just one day. I really hope in the future he can win this award and be considered the best player in the world,” he added.
This was Brazil’s second victory in as many matches of the qualifiers making and they will next face Venezuela and Uruguay next month.