Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar accomplished a grand feat last October when he passed former Brazilian striker Ronaldo on the Brazilian national team’s all-time goal-scoring list. Neymar now stands at 64 career goals for Brazil, which ranks just behind Pele (77) for the top spot on the list.
🇧🇷 Brazil's all-time top scorers 👉 Neymar is now only 13 goals behind Pelé’s tally.
Pelé: 77 Goals
Neymar: 64 Goals
Ronaldo: 62 Goals
Romario 55 Goals
Zico: 48 Goals
Bebeto: 39 Goals#SeleçãoBrasileira #NeymarJr #NeymarGoals pic.twitter.com/98hazHncfA— Globe Soccer Awards (@Globe_Soccer) October 16, 2020
For Neymar, it seems inevitable that he will surpass Pele to become the all-time leader in goals for the Brazilian national team. And this may come as soon as this year.
For one, Brazil will be taking part in at least 16 games this year. Brazil will have 10 2022 World Cup qualifying fixtures, which will include duels against the likes of Argentina and Uruguay. Brazil is also tentatively planned to have one international friendly fixture as well, but the opponent has not been revealed yet.
The postponed 2020 Copa America will also take part this year with an expanded group stage. So, if Brazil manages to once again advance to the final of this competition, it would then have a high of eight fixtures played in the tournament.
In the case that Brazil does reach the Copa America final, Neymar could very well play in 19 international fixtures in this calendar year. Of course, injuries and rest concerns could come into play. But with this high amount of fixtures slated to be played this year, Neymar will have an opportunity to add to his goal tally with Brazil.
With just 14 goals needed to pass Pele on this historic goals list, Neymar may be in line to capture this record very soon.
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