Neymar etched his name indellibly into the history books of Brazilian football on Friday, during his country’s World Cup semi-final meeting with Croatia.
The Selecao, of course, are currently locked in action.
After making short work of South Korea in the competition’s Last-16, Tite’s troops were pitted against Croatia for a spot in the final four, amid ongoing efforts to keep the country’s pursuit of a record-extending sixth World Cup crown alive.
And, upon the aforementioned Neymar opening the scoring in Al Rayyan, Brazil looked well on their way to precisely that.
After embarking on a trademark surge through the heart of the Croatian backline, the Paris Saint-Germain standout played a pair of one-twos, before rounding Dominik Livakovic, and slotting into the roof of the net:
GOAL!!!
Neymar finds a way through and thumps home for Brazil! 🔥
Can Croatia find a way back?
🖥📱💻 Watch on @BBCOne, @BBCiPlayer and follow on @BBCSounds and via the @BBCSport app.#BBCFootball #BBCWorldCup
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 9, 2022
And, as alluded to above, in the process, Neymar made history.
77 – Neymar has now scored 77 goals for Brazil, moving level with Pelé as the joint-highest scorer in their history. Heir. pic.twitter.com/8GvDBU1j5G
— OptaJoao (@OptaJoao) December 9, 2022
Bruno Petkovic’s ensuing equaliser deep into the 2nd-half of extra time, though, means that proceedings at the Education City Stadium have since been sent to a penalty shootout.
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