Explained: Why Neymar’s goal tally is not level with Pele according to Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) despite goal against Croatia
According to CBF, Neymar is not on level terms with Brazilian legend Pele despite his spectacular goal against Croatia in the quarter-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar struck in injury time after the first half of extra time to break the deadlock. He made a darting run into the Croatian box after playing a nice one-two with Lucas Paqueta.
The no. 10 kept his composure inside the box as he got past Dominik Livakovic and found the back of the net in emphatic fashion to open the scoring.
This was Neymar's 77th goal for the Selecao and he is now level with Pele, according to FIFA. However, according to CBF, Pele scored 95 goals for his country.
The discrepancy in the numbers is because FIFA counts international goals only when a player scores against another country. However, CBF counts international goals even if a player scores against a club while playing for the Selecao.
NEYMAR IN EXTRA TIME WHEN BRAZIL NEED HIM.
HE EQUALS PELÉ AS BRAZIL'S ALL-TIME MEN'S TOP SCORER (77) 🇧🇷 https://t.co/wZPCKgbdYk
Pele scored 18 goals in such games while facing clubs like Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid. Hence, his goal tally is 95, according to CBF.
Neymar, however, also scored for the Selecao in competitions like the Olympics. If the statistics from those tournaments are to be taken into account, the PSG superstar currently has 85 goals for Brazil, ten less than Pele.
Brazil crashed out of the FIFA World Cup despite Neymar's heroics
Despite Neymar's breathtaking finish, Brazil succumbed to a defeat against Croatia in the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup.
Bruno Petkovic's deflected goal in the second half of extra time leveled the scoring for Zlatko Dalic's team and the game went to a penalty shootout.
Luka Modric and co. managed to score all four of the penalties they took. Brazil, however, could only score two of their four penalties. Real Madrid forward Rodrygo saw his effort saved by Dominik Livakovic and PSG star Marquinhos' shot came back off the post to hand Croatia a ticket to the last four of the tournament for the second time in a row.
The 2018 finalists will play the winner of the Netherlands vs. Argentina game later tonight in the semi-final.
Croatia, wow!