Vinícius Júnior says Brazil neither deserves, nor wants, to have the favourite tag attached to it heading into the World Cup this summer.
“I believe that [the national team] isn’t the favourite based on the results we’ve had,” the Real Madrid forward said.
“But the weight of the jersey, the weight of the players we have here … We’re going to do everything to put Brazil on top again. We don’t want to be favorites, we want to put Brazil on top.”
Brazil are record five-time winners of the World Cup yet the last of those triumphs was in 2002. Their best finish since was fourth place in 2014, when they hosted the event.
Since Carlo Ancelotti took the helm in May last year after leaving Real Madrid, Brazil have had mixed results. The Italian steered the team to two wins, one draw and one loss as Brazil finished fifth in World Cup qualifying.
During October’s international break, Brazil defeated South Korea but were surprisingly beaten by Japan, before recording a victory against Senegal and drawing with Tunisia in November.
Vinícius does believe Ancelotti, whom he played for at Madrid, has given the team an edge.
“We just needed to click,” he said. “After Ancelotti arrived, we have a better idea of how to play. He takes a lot of pressure off us.”
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It may be that Brazil’s World Cup hopes depend most on Vinícius, despite him only scoring eight goals in 45 appearances for the national team. The 25-year-old has 17 goals and eight assists in 43 games for Madrid this season.
“I’m in the happiest moment,” Vinícius said. “Everything I do at Real Madrid, I hope to do here with the national team. I don’t pay much attention to what people say. I know my job and how dedicated I am to the World Cup.
“It’s where all the players want to be. Regarding my form, I always try to be at my best, scoring goals and providing assists. I imagine everyone wants me to be one of the protagonists. I’m prepared for all the challenges in my career. I’ve already played in a World Cup, I don’t want to lose again.”
Brazil begin their World Cup campaign against Morocco on June 13. They will also face Scotland and Haiti in Group C.
