• Neymar, 28, has scored his goals in 104 international appearances, while Pele played 92 times for his country.
• The top four from the 10-team group qualify directly for Qatar with the fifth-placed side going into an inter-confederation play-off.
Neymar moved second behind Pele in Brazil’s all-time leading scorer list by scoring a hat-trick in their 2022 World Cup qualifying win over Peru.
The Paris St-Germain forward scored his 64th international goal when he tapped in late on to complete a 4-2 win.
Peru twice took the lead in Lima but Neymar scored two penalties to take his tally above Ronaldo, with Pele on 77.
Everton’s Richarlison also scored, nudging a header from Liverpool’s Roberto Firminio header over the line.
Neymar, 28, has scored his goals in 104 international appearances, while Pele played 92 times for his country.
Brazil and Argentina lead the group after winning both of their opening matches while Paraguay, who beat Venezuela 1-0 on Tuesday, are third.
The top four from the 10-team group qualify directly for Qatar with the fifth-placed side going into an inter-confederation play-off.
Meanwhile, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner both scored in Germany’s entertaining draw with Switzerland in the Nations League.
The Chelsea duo linked up expertly to salvage a point for Germany in a game they had trailed for long periods. Bayern Munich’s Serge Gnabry scored the final equaliser for the home side with a sensational backheeled shot.
Switzerland had squandered a two-goal lead and finished the game with 10 men, but took a deserved point.
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard will have watched with interest as Antonio Rudiger also featured for the 2014 World Cup winners.
It was a momentous night for midfielder Toni Kroos who earned his 100th cap for Germany, becoming only the 12th player to do so. Despite allowing 300 fans into the stadium for their friendly against Turkey last week, no fans were present at the RheinEnergieStadion due to a rise in local coronavirus cases.
Switzerland needed a win to avoid the prospect of being relegated to group ‘B’, they now sit at the bottom of the table with two points.
Germany will face Ukraine in the next round of matches in November, with both teams level on six points in group A4, after Ukraine beat group leaders Spain 1-0.