Brazil fans were waiting for Vinícius Júnior to be their hero. He’s arrived

“I ’m so happy to see you happy. Living a dream. It’s Brazil,” wrote Vinícius Júnior on Instagram after Brazil’s 3-0 win against Scotland . In the accompanying photograph he was holding his arms open – in the style of his Real Madrid teammate Jude Bellingham. When Bellingham pulled out that pose after scoring for England at Euro 2024, he famously shouted: “ Who else? ” When Vinícius found the net it felt more like he was saying: “I’ve arrived.” It took a while. Vinícius won his first cap in a 1-0 friendly defeat to Peru in 2019 and was mostly on the bench when Brazil hosted the Copa América in 2021. He didn’t score his first international goal until his 19th appearance – a 4-0 thrashing of Chile in a World Cup qualifier in 2022. By the time the World Cup kicked off in Qatar later that year, he had added clinical finishing to his speed and there were greater expectations. Vinícius went to the tournament as a Champions League winner, having scored the only goal in the final when Real Madrid beat Liverpool at the Stade de France . Given that billing, his impact at the tournament – one goal (his second in 28 caps) and two assists as Brazil were beaten by Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals – was below par. But the Brazilian public did not expect him to be the main character. That role was still held by Neymar. …