Vinicius, who moved from Flamengo to Madrid in 2018 at the age of 18, has had a decent but far from brilliant season. Real failed to win a title for the second consecutive year, while the Selecao star found himself on the bench under Alonso and was even booed by his own fans on occasion. His numbers—22 goals and 14 assists in 53 appearances across all competitions in 2025/26—are solid, yet the sense of underachievement remains.
At the World Cup, Vinicius and Brazil sit in the outer ring of favourites. The five-time champions are not among the absolute front-runners: their qualifying campaign was too inconsistent, and their points tally was historically poor. The bookmakers’ top picks—France, Spain and Argentina—all possess greater squad depth.
In 48 caps he has scored only nine goals, a modest return for a player of his profile. Last weekend, however, he helped spark World Cup optimism with an early goal and an assist in Brazil’s 6-2 friendly win over Panama. The Madrid forward netted inside the opening minutes and then provided an assist; the final warm-up against Egypt takes place on Saturday.
Brazil opens its World Cup campaign on 12 June against dark horses Morocco, and will then face Scotland and Haiti in the group stage.
