Emotional Neymar closes in on Pele's Brazil record - in pictures

Victory over Peru sends team top of Copa America group

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It was an emotional night for Neymar as he powered hosts Brazil to victory and also became his country's second top goalscorer behind Pele.

Neymar scored his 68th goal for Brazil in the 4-0 victory over Peru on Thursday and surpassed former Real Madrid striker Ronaldo in the process.

Neymar reached the mark in 107 games after scoring the second in the Copa America clash in Rio de Janeiro.

He is now just nine strikes behind Pele, who had 77 goals in 92 games.

Goals from Alex Sandro, Neymar, Everton Ribeiro and Richarlison gave the holders a ninth straight win and a perfect six points from two games to top  Group B. Colombia are two points behind after a 0-0 draw with Venezuela.

“It’s obviously a great honour for me to be part of the Brazil team’s history,” a tearful Neymar said.

“To be completely honest, my dream was always to play for Brazil, to wear this shirt. I never imagined I would reach these numbers.”

"It's emotional for me because many things happened in these last two years that were difficult, complicated," Neymar added.

Two years ago he missed Brazil's Copa win on home soil through injury, although before the tournament began he was accused of assault, a case that was dismissed over a lack of evidence.