timeAbout half an hour into the game, Rainbow Films came on and, to be fair, Vinicius Junior didn’t have many better options. He was pinned to the left touchline with two Uruguayan defenders on hand and no Brazilian teammates to help him.And just like that, with a moment of improvisation, a flick of his left heel, a sudden increase in speed, he was off and clear: This is an outrageous skill that – to be picky here – has always been even It would be even better if he could actually keep the ball around.
In a way, this vignette, cut from the 2-0 defeat by Uruguay in October’s World Cup qualifiers, sums up Vinicius’ international career to date: great plans and great ideas thwarted. It’s been five years since his debut and in that time a global star at Under-15 and Under-17 level has developed into one of the game’s great strikers. But at least when it comes to Brazilian yellow, the giant leap has yet to be made.
He scored just three goals in 26 games for the national team and only played the full 90 minutes in official matches twice. Over the past three seasons at Real Madrid, he has averaged a goal or assist every 101 minutes in all competitions. For Brazil, it is every 205 minutes. As Vinicius prepares to feature at Wembley on Saturday night, the failure to replicate his stunning club form at international level remains one of the enduring mysteries of this inconsistent Brazilian side.
Vinicius noticed this incongruity. “I’ve been very poor in the last few games and I still have a lot to improve,” he admitted after Uruguay’s defeat. “My cycle in the national team has not yet reached my expectations. In order to be able to perform at the best level, I still have a lot to improve, just like I did at Real Madrid.” However, despite Vinicius’s admirable performance He blames himself, but he is also a victim of circumstance to some extent. In a way, his story is a parable for a modern-day Brazil team that has struggled for much of this century to be more than the sum of its parts.
Of course, there are some mitigating factors. Hamstring and thigh injuries have hampered his development this season, with Vinicius missing half of Brazil’s autumn World Cup qualifiers. In a farcical coaching rotation – in the space of 13 months, Tite was replaced by Ramon Menezes, Fernando Diniz by Fernando Diniz and Dorival Junior by Dorival Junior was replaced while the national football federation desperately pursued Carlo Ancelotti – creating an internal confusion that no one really understood. No longer knowing the best team or best system in Brazil.
Take the six games Vinicius played for Brazil last year as an example. Menezes’ strict 4-3-3 gave way to Diniz’s busy 4-2-4, with Vinicius himself moving from left wing to center in the forward rotation. Rodrigo, Gabriel Jesus, Richarlison, Anthony, Malcom, Ronnie, Vitor Roque, Pedro, Rafinha, Gabriel Martinez: These men were fighting alongside Vinicius on the Brazilian front within just 12 months.
Of course, there’s another player on the roster, perhaps the most crucial. Neymar has often been accused of holding back Vinicius’ development in Brazil: a bit unfair, given that Vinicius failed as often as he failed without Neymar as he did with him.But this is still a Neymar-esque team, even if Neymar himself enjoys a lucrative sinecure in Saudi Arabia: a mecca of individual brilliance, where talented players regularly emerge In the absence of meaningful relationships and a disciplined model on the field, they are left to fend for themselves.
In Madrid, Ancelotti devised a system to get the best out of Vinicius: keep him high on the pitch and pare his game down to its most intense level. With Brazil, he was often forced to wander in search of the ball, forced to do things on his own and underserved in his favorite areas. The most shocking statistic is: Vinicius averaged 3.44 shots per 90 minutes with Real Madrid this season, but only 0.95 with Brazil.
With Neymar’s career in sharp decline, Vinicius has gradually usurped his status as the biggest star in Brazilian football. The racism he suffered while playing for Madrid sparked an outpouring of sympathy and recognition in his home country. However, until the World Cup in Qatar, he wasn’t even a starter: the night before Brazil’s opener against Serbia, Tite’s coaching staff was debating whether to include him in the starting lineup.
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Vinicius is now first choice, of course, and the arrival of Dorival – a less dogmatic and more flexible coach than his predecessor Diniz – offers a fresh start. Neymar is approaching the end of his age – he is recovering from ACL surgery and will be 34 by the time of the 2026 World Cup – so it is widely felt that Brazil need youth around Vinicius, Enderrick and Rodrygo Players rebuild.
Still, with just three months to go until the Copa America, the clock is ticking. It feels ridiculous to say that a player who scored the winning goal in the Champions League final at the age of 21 still needs to prove himself on the big stage. For Brazil, however, it makes sense. If being the best player on the world’s most famous international team comes with certain expectations, then at least he has enough time to live up to those expectations. “The emotion is like it’s the first time,” Vinicius said upon arriving in London for his call-up. All in all, that’s probably the case.
