Vinicius's blunt admission: «Brazil aren't favourites for the World Cup» | OneFootball

As part of another FIFA international window, Vinicius Jr. was emphatic ahead of the friendly Brazil will play against France this Thursday at 5 p.m., saying that the Brazilian national team is not the favorite heading into the 2026 World Cup.

“We don’t want to be favorites; we want to go into the World Cup the way we’ve been going into the friendlies: calm, patient, and focused on what we’ve been working on,” the Real Madrid winger said at a press conference.

The 25-year-old forward stressed that Brazil will not be the favorite at the World Cup “because of the qualifying results,” in which the Canarinha finished fifth, the worst result in its history, although he assured that the players will do everything possible to win a sixth world title.

Nevertheless, the winger said Brazil will do “everything” to win the tournament and expressed confidence in the chances of a squad made up of quality players who play leading roles for their clubs, among whom he highlighted Raphinha (Barcelona), João Pedro (Chelsea), Matheus Cunha (Manchester United), Casemiro (Manchester United), Endrick (Olympique Lyon), and Estêvão (Chelsea).

“The spotlight can belong to each player in each match. I don’t want to be the top scorer; I want to do my job and be a champion,” he concluded. He also praised Carlo Ancelotti’s contribution at the helm of the Seleção, which he joined last May, for his way of “understanding the game” and for his ability to adapt the system to the profile of the players at his disposal.

“Ancelotti understands the way we have to play. With so many attackers, of course we’re going to play attacking football,” summed up Vini Jr., who also played under the Italian coach at Real Madrid.

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