As the Selecao cruised to a 5-1 victory over 10-man Tunisia at the Parc des Princes, Neymar drew down on Pele’s all-time Brazil goalscoring record.
Playing on his home turf at club level, the Paris Saint-Germain front struck his 75th senior international goal from the penalty spot, falling two short of legendary scorer Pele’s record.
Raphinha scored twice, while Richarlison and Pedro also scored as Tite’s team finished their World Cup preparations with a bang.
Tunisia, who had Dylan Bronn sent off, got a consolation goal from Montassar Talbi as they suffered their first defeat in eight games.
Brazil took the lead in the 11th minute when Casemiro’s floated pass into the area was met by Raphinha, who fired a looping header beyond Aymen Dahmen’s dive.
Tunisia answered with Talbi nodding in from Anis Ben Slimane’s free-kick, but the Selecao took the lead less than two minutes later, with Richarlison latching onto Raphinha’s slick through-ball and drilling through Dahmen’s legs.
After Aissa Laidouni brought down Casemiro, Neymar calmly converted from 12 yards, before Raphinha hammered home his second goal of the game from Richarlison’s lay-off.
Tunisia was reduced to ten men just before halftime, with Bronn receiving a straight red card for a harsh attack on Neymar.
In the second half, Antony and Vinicius Junior came close to extending the lead before Pedro scored Brazil’s fifth goal 16 minutes from time, the Flamengo forward beautifully volleying in his first international goal.
Casemiro and Thiago Silva each came close to making it six, but the Selecao had done more than enough to extend their unbeaten streak to 15 games.
What does it imply? Brazil is carrying momentum into Qatar.
The Selecao has already won seven consecutive matches and will be difficult to stop in the World Cup later this year.
Tunisia arrived in Paris having not surrendered since their quarter-final loss to Burkina Faso in January, but it was always going to require a massive effort to keep that run continuing here.
Raphinha is on the double.
The Barcelona forward’s an outstanding start to senior international football has maintained, with five goals in 11 caps.
His double – a fantastic looping header and superb first-time strike – came from a game-high five shots, and his three crosses were also unrivaled.
Richarlison shines once more.
Richarlison, who scored twice against Ghana on Friday, continued his scoring streak with another well-taken goal today.
Despite only playing the opening 45 minutes in Paris, Tottenham’s attacker is helping his chances of leading the line in Qatar. He now has seven goals in six internationals.
What comes next?
Brazil will begin their quest for a sixth World Cup title against Serbia in Group G on November 24. Tunisia kicks off their Group D campaign against Denmark two days early.