There are few footballers in the past five years who have been more decisive in big games than Vinícius Júnior.
Since 2021, Vinícius has had the most goal contributions in Champions League knockouts. He has also scored in two Champions League finals and has been a superstar coming up clutch over and over again for his club.
Admittedly, the last two seasons have been rough for the left winger for a variety of reasons, and Brazil fans are still waiting for the Real Madrid version of Vinícius to arrive to the national team, where his performances have paled in comparison.
Recent Struggles for Club and Country
The Brazilian has struggled at Real Madrid co-existing with Kylian Mbappé, who arrived in the summer of 2024. In Brazil, the problems are multiple and can’t be explained without tracing back the lack of tactical structure instilled by former head coach Dorival Junior.
Under Dorival, there was little cohesiveness in attack. The system was overly-fluid with too much freedom. This Brazil team is not as loaded as previous generations where stars could link up with each other in abundance, make the right runs and provide elite final execution.
Vinícius is often isolated, which makes him easy to defend, as opponents know they can congest his space, send multiple defenders toward him and stall Brazil’s attack. To make matters worse, Brazil struggled getting production from their full-backs to give the wingers proper support. They don’t have a creative hub in the center of midfield who can control tempo and create prolifically.
Raphinha’s emergence as a superstar in his own right is a big help. If there’s anyone that can unlock Vinícius’s best, it’s new coach Carlo Ancelotti, who inspired a Ballon d’Or level version of the Brazilian at Real Madrid.
Vinícius has played in just one World Cup, where he scored one goal in the 2022 tournament in Qatar. There will be a tremendous amount of pressure on him in the upcoming World Cup, where Brazil will lean on his shoulders and opponents will know how to frustrate him. Among the stars of the World Cup, Vinícius has one of the toughest paths to success given the state of the Brazilian national team as well as his own lack of production for them so far.
If everything clicks, though, Brazil have the superstar required to make a run to the final. Rekindling his relationship with Carlo Ancelotti in a cup competition could be just what Brazil need to realize success again.
Outside of Vinícius, Brazil have yet to find answers to their fullback and creative midfield problems. They don’t have a prolific striker either who can be a reliable target and goalscorer at the level the team has had in the past.
ACL injuries to, Éder Militão Rodrygo Goes, as well as question marks over the health of Estêvão make the journey even more complicated. In Brazil’s biggest game of the qualifiers, against Argentina, they were played off the park in a 4-1 loss. There are huge concerns about this team’s ceiling when they will inevitably face the best nations in the world in the knockout stages.
Brazil are still expected to top their group, but it won’t be easy. Matches against Morocco and Scotland in particular will be challenging.
- Brazil vs Morocco — June 13 — 6 p.m. ET from East Rutherford, NJ (MetLife Stadium)
- Brazil vs Haiti — June 19 — 8:30 p.m. ET from Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field)
- Brazil vs Scotland — June 24 — 6 p.m. ET from Miami (Hard Rock Stadium)
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