Real Madrid star silencing critics with World Cup defensive numbers | OneFootball

One of the main problems identified by observers in the Real Madrid team’s style of play during the last season was the presence of two of the biggest stars in European football, i.e., Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior, in their attack.

Both of these players perform the best when playing on the left wing, and both of them naturally want to be the leaders of the team, which is understandable keeping in view their stature in the sport.

Another problem was that of lack of defensive effort, as they both wanted to maximize their offensive efforts. This is a clear problem as modern football requires constant on and off the ball effort from all the players, and having two players not defending naturally creates issues for the team.

However, things might change from the next season. Mbappe recently indicated that he is going to work on his defensive skills this summer. On the other hand, Vinicius Junior is already showing a marked improvement in his defensive work, particularly in his pressing, as he stars for Brazil in the World Cup 2026.

According to a report from Diario AS, he is one of the top 30 players in the World Cup with the most defensive pressures (92), and sits well above some of the other biggest attacking names. His teammate at Real Madrid, Mbappe ranks 48th with his 77 defensive pressure actions, while Lionel Messi ranks 104th (48), Erling Haaland ranks 107th (47), Cristiano Ronaldo ranks 124th (42), and Lamine Yamal ranks 198th (18).

It is clear that Carlo Ancelotti is once again getting the best out of the Brazilian winger, as his performance is significantly better with Brazil than it was for the Merengue team with either Xabi Alonso or Alvaro Arbeloa. Hopefully, Vinicius Junior will retain this offensive and defensive form when he returns to Real Madrid after the World Cup.