Player backs Vini Jr at the World Cup, says: “He’s our outlet”

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Coluna do Fla

·16 June 2026

Player backs Vini Jr at the World Cup, says: “He’s our outlet”

What did Douglas Santos, Brazil national team full-back, say about Vini Jr?

Vini Jr is one of the standout players for the Brazil national team in this World Cup. Because of that label, the Real Madrid (Spain) forward’s performances are always under scrutiny. In an interview this Tuesday (16), full-back Douglas Santos made a point of heaping praise on the Flamengo academy product and said the player is the team’s outlet on the pitch.

“Vini is a guy who has been our outlet. But knowing we have Raphinha, Igor Thiago, Matheus Cunha, Bruno, who gets forward a lot. We’ve been talking on the left side so that he (Vini) has the chance to show the football he knows how to play. I always hope to do my job in the best way possible, which is to defend, so he can score goals up front,” Douglas Santos said.

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At the start of this World Cup, Vini Jr has been the focal point of Brazil’s attack, considering that Neymar is still recovering from a calf injury. As a result, the responsibility on the Real Madrid forward has grown even more.

Right in Brazil’s send-off friendly before heading to the United States, Vini Jr showed that he is looking to take on that responsibility for the national team. Besides scoring a stunning goal, the No. 7 also put in a strong performance against Panama at the Maracanã.

HOW DID VINI JR PERFORM IN BRAZIL VS MOROCCO AT THE WORLD CUP?

Brazil’s World Cup opener did not go as expected, and Ancelotti’s men were held to a 1-1 draw by Morocco. However, Vini Jr was one of the few players to earn praise for his performance.

Even though the team never really found its rhythm on the pitch, Vini Jr was the player who caused the most problems for Morocco’s defense. On one of those runs, in fact, the forward took on his marker and, with a powerful shot, scored the only goal for the ‘Seleção’.

ARE DOUGLAS SANTOS AND VINI JR AVAILABLE FOR ANCELOTTI IN BRAZIL’S NEXT MATCH?

Starters against Morocco, Vini Jr and Douglas Santos remain available to Carlo Ancelotti. That means Brazil’s coach will have both players for the training sessions leading up to the clash with Haiti in the second round of the World Cup.

WHEN IS BRAZIL VS HAITI IN THE WORLD CUP?

The match between Brazil and Haiti takes place at 9:30 p.m. Brasília time this Friday (19), in Philadelphia, United States. As usual, Coluna do Fla TV will cover the details of the match on YouTube, as well as on its website and social media. Finally, Rede Globo (free-to-air), SBT (free-to-air), SporTV (pay TV), NGSports, and CazéTV (YouTube) will broadcast the game.

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