Vinicius Jr. before Copa debut: “I prepared well for this moment” | OneFootball

Vinicius Jr. held a press conference on the eve of his debut at the 2026 World CupCredits: Rafael Ribeiro/CBF

Vinicius Jr. held a press conference on Friday afternoon (12), on the eve of Brazil’s World Cup opener, at the MetLife Stadium complex in New Jersey, and explained that he feels he is in one of the best moments of his career. After a season without injuries and now working with Ancelotti in the national team — a coach with whom he shone at Real Madrid — he sees no better opportunity than this one to make history for Brazil at the World Cup.

“The most special and important moment of my career. My physical and technical level is how I always dreamed it would be. I didn’t suffer any injuries this season. I prepared very well to reach this moment. Playing with Ancelotti gives me complete peace of mind; he gives me a lot of freedom and confidence to do everything I’ve already done with the national team and what I’ve already done at Real. There are eight games, and I can change this story for our country and for the players. I’m not even talking about goals and assists, but about playing well and giving the team the confidence it needs to have. It doesn’t matter how many goals I score. What matters is how far we go.”

Called up for the last World Cup, the No. 7 spoke about what the Seleção learned from the previous edition and stressed that the tournament is decided by the “small details.”

“I believe the World Cup is different from every other competition. The last World Cup taught me that we have to be ready until the very last minute of the match because the small details will decide your path in the tournament. I hope we can do things differently and come out ahead in those small details.”

Vinicius Jr. held a press conference on the eve of his debut at the 2026 World CupCredits: Rafael Ribeiro/CBF

In their first challenge of the tournament, Brazil will face Morocco at 7 p.m. Brasília time at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. In 2022, the Moroccans finished in fourth place — the best campaign in their history — and have been establishing themselves as one of the most dangerous national teams in the world.

“Without a doubt Morocco have improved a lot. They are a team that plans matches well and can compete against anyone. Football has changed a lot. Morocco are one of those teams. They had a great World Cup, but in the Africa Cup of Nations they lost in the final. They have an excellent team, players who play for major clubs. Brazil are ready to change this story and return to the top.”

Brazil and Morocco will face off at 7 p.m. Brasília time this Saturday (13) at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, United States. The match, valid for the first round of Group C, will be broadcast live by Globo and SBT (free-to-air TV), sportv and N Sports (pay TV), GE TV (via Globoplay), and CazéTV (YouTube).

Vinicius Jr. held a press conference on the eve of his debut at the 2026 World CupCredits: Rafael Ribeiro/CBF

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.