Vini Jr. tops Ancelotti era, matches Brazil greats at WC | OneFootball

Vinicius Jr. celebrates one of his two goals in Brazil’s victory 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 Brazilian 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, moved past Estêvão, who has scored 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, from 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 Scotland, 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 put Vini alongside legends Jairzinho (1970), Romário (1994), Ronaldo Fenômeno (2002), and Rivaldo (2002) on the list of players who scored in every group-stage match of the tournament.

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

In World Cup group stages, Ademir de Menezes is the only Brazilian to surpass the four-goal mark, scoring 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, behind only Argentina’s Messi.

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

Vinicius Jr. celebrates one of his two goals with his teammates in Brazil’s victory 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.