Vini Jr tops Ancelotti era, joins Rivaldo, Jairzinho, Romário, Ronaldo | OneFootball

Vinicius Jr. celebrates one of his two goals in Brazil’s win over Scotland in Miami at the 2026 World CupCredits: Rafael Ribeiro/CBF

Vinicius Jr. became the top scorer of the Carlo Ancelotti era with the Brazil national team after netting twice in the 3-0 win over Scotland on Wednesday night (24) in the third round of the World Cup. He reached seven goals under the Italian coach, overtook Estêvão, who has five, and was named man of the match.

In charge of the team since mid-2025, the coach has now completed 15 matches and has nine wins, three draws, and three losses, with 33 goals scored — and 12 conceded — by 13 different scorers. Besides Vini and Matheus Cunha, who sealed the score against the Scots and reached three goals under Ancelotti, the list includes: Bruno Guimarães, Gabriel Martinelli, Rodrygo, Casemiro, Lucas Paquetá, Danilo Santos, Igor Thiago (2); Paulo Henrique, Bremer, Rayan, and Endrick (1).

In this World Cup alone, he has four goals. He has found the net in every match. In addition to the two against the Scots, the forward scored in the 1-1 draw with Morocco in the opener and in the 3-0 win over Haiti in the second round. That saw Vini join legends Jairzinho (1970), Romário (1994), Ronaldo (2002), and Rivaldo (2002) on the list of players who scored in the tournament’s first three matches.

Vinicius Jr. received the man of the match award against Scotland from CafuCredits: Hannah Peters - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

In World Cup group-stage play, Ademir de Menezes is the only Brazilian to surpass the four-goal mark: he scored six in the 1950 edition. Level with Vini on four goals are Chico in 1950, Jairzinho in 1970, Ronaldo in 2002, and Neymar in 2014.

In addition, Vini is the first player since Neymar in the 2014 edition to score four goals in a World Cup. That tally already puts him in the race for the Golden Boot. He is tied with Norway’s Haaland and France’s Mbappé, and behind Argentina’s Messi.

This is Vinicius’s second World Cup. In the 2022 edition, he was a starter throughout the campaign and got on the scoresheet in the 4-1 win over South Korea in the round of 16. Overall, he now has five World Cup goals, tied with Garrincha, Romário, and Zico.

Vinicius Jr. celebrates with his teammates one of his two goals in Brazil’s win over Scotland in Miami 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.