ROMELU LUKAKU equaled Pele’s international goal record after netting a brace for Belgium.
The on-loan Chelsea striker fired in two second-half goals as the Red Devils romped to a 5-0 win over Estonia.
Lukaku netted twice in two second-half minutes to cement Belgium’s position over their visitors at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels.
The 30-year-old’s first goal saw him hold off his defender before slotting his finish past goalkeeper Karl Hein.
His second was even better as he turned his defender on the edge of the box before firing his effort into the bottom corner.
Lukaku’s second goal turned out to be quite a landmark for the striker as it was his 77th international goal.
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This means that he has tied level with Brazil’s legendary forward Pele.
The three-time World Cup winner netted 77 goals for Brazil in his 94 international appearances.
Lukaku managed to reach the total in 110 appearances and has now joined an elite club.
Only 11 players have netted more international goals than the Belgian forward.
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This list includes current stars such as Neymar, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
It also has legendary footballing names like Ferenc Puskas.
Ronaldo is the leading international goalscorer with an astonishing 123 goals in 201 appearances for Portugal.
Lukaku is Belgium’s leading international goalscorer with 44 more than second-placed Eden Hazard with 33 goals.
Pele had been Brazil’s leading goalscorer since he hung up his boots in 1977.
However, he was recently overtaken by former Barcelona and PSG ace Neymar who scored his 78th and 79th international goals during Brazil’s win against Bolivia.
Lukaku left Chelsea this summer on another loan move as he reunited with manager Jose Mourinho at AS Roma in the Serie A.
He has only made one appearance so far for the Italian side but has shown that he still has plenty of scoring ability.
Former Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen opened the scoring for Belgium in the Euro 2024 qualifier before Arsenal star Leandro Trossard doubled the lead with a stunning strike.
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Lukaku then fired both of his goals in before Charles De Ketelarere rounded off the scoring against Estonia in the 88th minute.
Pele died in December 2022 after he had stopped responding to treatment for a tumour in his colon.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
