COPA AMÉRICA 2024
Why isn’t Vinicius Junior playing against Uruguay in the Copa America quarterfinals?
The Real Madrid star was hoping to add to his impressive season by helping his national team to another continental title in the United States.
Brazil and Colombia went head-to-head last Tuesday night for top spot in Group D. Victory for Brazil would have seen them take that position, but Colombia claimed first place, and an easier tie in the quarter-finals, by holding the Samba Boys to a tie. That handed them the tougher task of overcoming Uruguay to reach the semi-finals, and it was made all the more difficult with the loss of one of their key attacking players.
Who will replace suspended Vinicius in Uruguay quarterfinal?
Raphinha had given Brazil the lead in a feisty game against Colombia, in which there were numerous fouls, many of which concerned a raging battle between the aforementioned scorer and Deiver Machado on the flank. However it was Vinicius Junior who found himself in disciplinary trouble, catching James Rodriguez with a stray arm in the opening stages. Vinicius was booked for the foul, his second of the tournament so far.
That second yellow card was enough to earn him a one-match suspension. Vini will therefore miss the quarter-final game for Brazil, but will be back to play in the semi-final, should his team make it that far. The expectation is that new national sensation, Endrick, who is soon to join his compatriot in Madrid, will take his place from the start.
Why isn’t Vinícius Júnior performing for Brazil?
Considering his incredible talents, Vini’s record of five goals in 33 Brazil games is a little underwhelming. The Real Madrid man is a real goal-scoring threat in LaLiga and the Champions League but he hasn’t been able to replicate that for the national team. Yet.
“Every time I enter the field for the national team, I have three or four players marking me,” Vinicius said earlier in the week, reflecting on his struggles with Brazil.
“New coach, new players, everything takes time. Our fans want everything immediately done, but we’re going little by little. In the next game, I’m sure we’ll play much better because we now already understand what the competition will be like, what the pitch, and what the referees will be like. We know we can improve, we have to improve. I also know what I can improve, evolve and do for our team.”
With Neymar out injured for the duration of this tournament the pressure has been on Vinicius - and, to a lesser extent, Rodrygo Goes - to replace Brazil’s all-time record scorer. The results under new coach Dorival Junior have been mixed and Brazil have been uncharacteristically goal-shy in their opening two games of the tournament.