Brazil fans were waiting for Vinícius Júnior to be their hero. He’s arrived

Vini Jr has been a star at Real Madrid for a long time. Now he is truly delivering for his country at a World Cup “I’m so happy to see you happy. Living a dream. It’s Brazil,” wrote Vinícius Júnior on Instagram after Brazil’s 3-0 win against Scotland. In the accompanying photograph he was holding his arms open – in the style of his Real Madrid teammate Jude Bellingham. When Bellingham pulled out that pose after scoring for England at Euro 2024, he famously shouted: “ Who else? ” When Vinícius found the net it felt more like he was saying: “I’ve arrived.” It took a while. Vinícius won his first cap in a 1-0 friendly defeat by Peru in 2019 and was mostly on the bench when Brazil hosted the Copa América in 2021. He didn’t score his first international goal until his 19th appearance – a 4-0 thrashing of Chile in a World Cup qualifier in 2022. By the time the World Cup kicked off in Qatar later that year, he had added clinical finishing to his speed and there were greater expectations. Continue reading...

RMA INT BRA ENG Jude Bellingham Vinicius Junior

Brazil fans were waiting for Vinícius Júnior to be their hero. He’s arrived

News Angle·News

Jude Bellingham

22 · CM · Real Madrid

Position

CM / CAM

Nation

England

SOURCE

The Guardian

Published by The Guardian · 29 June 2026 at 07:00 UTC

AI-assisted · generated from The Guardian reporting, not editor reviewed

Story Profile

Brazil fans were waiting for Vinícius Júnior to be their hero. He’s arrived

Brazil fans were waiting for Vinícius Júnior to be their hero. He’s arrived

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