Nine goals in his first 50 caps, four goals in his last three. The significance of the last three caps is that they have been World Cup games.
Vinicius Jr could not have asked for anything better than delivering at the biggest stage. His international career up to a few days ago has been heavily dissected and criticized. He has always been a point of discussion amongst Brazilians worldwide.
Despite the arrival of former Real Madrid serial winner Ancelotti, arguably the most influential coach Vinicius has had in his club career, the question that has defined his national team story thus far remains.
Even for a footballer that is under the pressure of playing for Real Madrid, it seems there is unprecedented pressure when he pulls on the yellow of the Selecâo.
He spoke to Caze TV recently. “At our clubs, every three days there’s a new opportunity.” “So if I play badly in two games out of 10, nobody is going to talk about it that much. With the national team, it’s a long time between one match and the next. The pressure is always huge and people always expect me to perform at my best. “If I go to the World Cup, score four or five goals and we become champions, the whole story changes. Then people will say I was preparing myself for the World Cup all along, even in the games where I didn’t play well.”
The expectation going into the World Cup was that Vinicius, in the absence of Neymar, would be the main man already for Brazil. But poor performances led people into questioning why he could not replicate his club form, though not great in recent times, for his country.
Discontent with his performances even led to calls for him to get dropped. Such was the ire that following Brazil’s defeat by France in March international break that the debate in his homeland pivoted to whether Vinicius still deserved a place in the starting XI. “Should Vinicius be dropped?” asked one of Brazil’s most traditional football panel shows, ESPN’s Linha de Passe.
He has struggled for form for a while, with a significant drop after losing out on the Balon d’Or to Rodri. He later remarked that he would work ten times as hard if he had to. But his form did not improve, with the demanding fans always letting him know how they felt.
On field incidents of racism have not helped, with La Liga reporting 26 incidents of racist abuse directed at Vini since October 2021, the most high profile being an alleged racist remark by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni in a Champions League game in February 2026.
But he has taken a stand every single time and voiced his outrage towards such events, which has led to him gaining praise and applause globally for his mental fortitude and outspokenness.
He seems to have put everything behind him and is now delivering for the most decorated side in World Cup history. He knows there is pressure on him to be a driving force in this edition.
