Kolkata: Vinicius Jr was involved in all the goals Brazil have scored in this World Cup. Between the strike that gave Brazil belief and the one that buttressed the margin against Haiti was an assist and a pre-assist for Matheus Cunha.
That’s six goal contributions in as many World Cup games since 2022. Among the five-time champions, only Ronaldo (19 in 19), Pele (11 from 8) and Tostao (7 from 7) have more.
If Brazil are to go deep in this tournament, they will need more of the same from the left-side forward. He is the “feet” and “face” of Brazil, “O’Globo” has said of Vinicius Jr before the last group game against Scotland on Wednesday.
Even if Neymar Jr returns to international football for the first time since October 2023, with Raphinha injured and Casemiro feeling the effects of being 34 and a long club season, it will be on Vinicius Jr to be the “craque” (ace in Portuguese) who can continue Brazil’s tradition of topping the group stage in every World Cup since 1982. His speed and the ability to dribble and score makes Vinicius Jr a crack player. He will need to show that Brazil can count on him.
Before the opening match against Morocco, the 25-year-old going into his second World Cup had said that the team’s aim was to put “Brazil back to where it should have never left, which is at the top.” Brazil wobbled at the start and for most of the first half. Barring one player.
Vinicius Jr tracked back to help Douglas Santos – and help the left-back with Achraf Hakimi, Brahim Diaz and Neil El Aynaoui targeting that flank – and also tried linking up with striker Igor Thiago. Amid sustained pressure by Morocco, he delivered a cross Thiago should have put away in the 14th minute. The No.9 couldn’t, so he did it himself. The equaliser was crafted by Brazilian brilliance, Vinicius Jr helping start the move and finishing with a blast into the far corner.
Head coach Carlo Ancelotti later said Brazil were a “bit anxious” in the first half. What better way to calm them than with a goal of such quality.
Not long after, Vinicius Jr fouled Hakimi. After inquiring whether the Morocco right-back was okay, he exhorted the crowd to get behind the canary yellow shirts. They did. Available for the out-ball, Vinicius Jr linked up with Raphinha late in the game. “When you are up against Vinicius Jr, it is hard to defend,” said Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi.
He also did the dirty work out of possession. If that meant a foul late in the game on the impressive Ayyoub Bouaddi, so be it.
Against Haiti, Vinicius Jr again gave early notice, getting up in a flash and leaving right-back Carlens Arcus trailing in his wake. Cunha dropping into midfield led to space opening behind him. That meant Raphinha and Vinicius Jr could move inside as Brazil tried to find attackers through diagonal balls behind the defence.
Their first shot on goal came from Vinicius Jr and the first goal from his shot. When Lucas Paqueta found him, Vinicius Jr noticed Cunha making a diagonal run and played the pass to his feet for the second goal. His goal, Brazil’s third, again came with Vinicius Jr opening his shoulder and burying the shot into the far corner. “If Vini is focused on the game, focused on his football, he is the best in the world,” The Guardian quoted Casemiro as telling “AS” in 2025.
When Raphinha got injured, Vinicius Jr was among the first to commiserate. Ancelotti introduced Rayan as replacement. The young player stayed back and Vinicius Jr moved to a central position with Cunha when Brazil were out of possession. Always asking for the ball, he was visibly disappointed when Brazil tried to find overlapping right-back Douglas Santos instead of looking left. Before that, there was a silky back-heel for Gabriel Martinelli who was marginally off-side.
Ancelotti brought Brazil to the World Cup with the mantra of playing for the team and not seeking a Ballon d’Or. Vinicius Jr has followed that. “I don’t care about individual titles, I’m not here to be the MVP,” he has said.
For long, Vinicius Jr has had to deal with the charge that the brilliance of a second-half hattrick against Borussia Dortmund or picking Trent Alexander-Arnold’s pocket (when he was in Liverpool) were things he did only at Real Madrid. It is a burden Lionel Messi lived with until the 2021 Copa America. What better opportunity to change that than now for the man with 11 goals and nine assists in 20 internationals?
It could mean a tournament where Vinicius Jr shines along with Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. One where the baton passes from Messi, who turns 39 on Wednesday, to Mbappe, who is 27 and Vinicius Jr and Haaland who will be 26 next month.
