Brazil's Vinicius Jr: A Different Player, Same Shirt.
Written By: Landon Pulmano
Contributor | Sideline Society Media
For years the story on Vinicius Jr at a World Cup was basically a shrug. Brilliant at Real Madrid, quiet in yellow. The ball just wouldn't go in for him on the biggest stage, and that gap between his club numbers and his international ones followed him around like a rumor nobody could kill. This tournament has ended that conversation. Four goals, an assist, and Brazil sitting in the round of 16 with him as the reason why.
It started against Morocco. Group opener, a draw that could've gone worse for Brazil, and Vinicius scored in the 32nd minute to make sure it didn't. Then Haiti, and this one wasn't really about the goal he got. It was about how involved he was in everything. He scored one himself in first-half stoppage time, set up Matheus Cunha for another, and had a hand in the rebound that led to Cunha's opener too. Directly involved in all four Brazil goals across the first two games. That's a guy running the entire attack by himself.
Scotland is where it clicked into place. Seventh minute, he pounces on a loose ball after Rayan pressures a defender into a bad pass. Vini takes a touch past the keeper, taps it into an empty net. Then right before halftime, unmarked at the far post, nodding home a cross that two Scotland defenders somehow both failed to deal with. He became the first Brazilian in 24 years to score in each of his country's first three World Cup matches.
The last guys to do it were Ronaldo and Rivaldo, back in 2002, the year Brazil went and won the whole thing.
Under manager Carlo Ancelotti specifically, something has changed. Six goals in thirty-nine games for Brazil under every coach before him. Seven goals in thirteen games since Ancelotti took over. That's basically a different player wearing the same shirt. Vinicius said as much himself after the Haiti win, talking about how he used to play well and just watch the ball not go in, and how that chips away at your head over time no matter how good you actually are. This time, he said, the goals arrived. Ancelotti keeps trying to steer the story away from being all about one guy. “We're not hoping it will be Vinicius's World Cup," he told reporters after the Scotland game. "We're hoping it will be Brazil's World Cup." Off the pitch, Vinicius has been leaning into the moment. A few days before the round of 16, he posted a photo with Jay-Z, whose company Roc Nation Sports represents him. This the kind of picture that gets forwarded around a locker room fast. Whether that loosens a player up or adds pressure depends who you ask, but it hasn't shown up as a problem on the field.
Now comes Norway, Sunday at MetLife Stadium, a five-time champion against a country that had never won a World Cup knockout game before this tournament. Brazil have gone through fifteen straight World Cups without missing the knockout rounds, a streak stretching back to 1966. Norway bring their own problem in Erling Haaland, level with Vinicius near the top of the scoring table and just as capable of deciding a match in one touch.
Two of the tournament's best forwards, same pitch, both trying to keep their team's run alive.
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