Copa America 2024: Vinicius and the mission to fight against Messi

Another Brazil

"Brasil, Hexa Campeao Mundial"(Brazil, 6th World Cup), is a slogan related toBrazil teamsince the summer of Germany 2006, a tournament in which they lost to France in the quarter-finals despite possessing many excellent attacking stars (Ronaldo, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Adriano, Robinho).

After the 2002 victory in Korea - Japan, with the spectacular performance of the legendary Ronaldo, Brazil always talked about the "Hexa" (6th time) every time they entered the World Cup.

At Qatar 2022, they even released the single "Brasil Hexa Campeao" to cheer on the samba dancers to conquer the gold cup.

Five World Cups have passed and the "Hexa" dream has yet to come true. Brazil's best result during this period was the semi-finals of the 2014 tournament on home soil, which was also a disaster against Germany, losing 1-7.

In the last 5 World Cups, Brazil's dream has been shattered by European representatives: France, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and most recently Croatia.

On the way to the 2026 World Cup, the 6th tournament since the last victory, Brazilians still talk about the dream of 6. Until then,Copa America 2024will somewhat assess the strength and ambition of "Selecao".

Brazil entered this South American championship with a negative image: their first defeat at home in the South American World Cup qualifiers (lost 0-1 to Argentina, Otamendi scored).

"Canarinha" was led by a new coach, Dorival Junior, after plan A collapsed. Carlo Ancelotti, who the CBF (Brazilian Football Federation) had been in contact with for a long time, decided not to fly across the ocean but to stay and win many glories with Real Madrid.

Dorival came into the game in a negative situation: Neymar, the team's symbol for the past 10 years, was absent due to injury; the squad had a player under investigation for betting violations (Lucas Paqueta); the playing style was disjointed and did not resemble the "Joga Bonito" identity.

Nevertheless, the Dorival period started well in terms of results: 4 games unbeaten. Commendable was the win over England at Wembley, followed by a 3-3 draw with Spain, which helped the team rise to 4th place in the FIFA rankings.

Vinicius Mission

In the past 15 years, Brazil's only major title was the 2019 Copa America. Recently, not only did they suffer defeat, they also had to watch their opponents Argentina andLionel MessiAfter conquering the South American Cup, he lifted the World Cup.

When leaving for the US, "Cararinha" received a statement from the 2002 World Cup champion, Ronaldinho:"I won't watch any Brazil games. The team lacks motivation, lacks joy, doesn't play well, there's no football".

However, everyone understands that this is a way to provoke and attract attention to find sponsorship for the team participating in Copa America 2024.

Without Neymar, Brazilians place their hopes on the new "Prince"Vinicius Junior. He just led Real Madrid to a La Liga and Champions League double, with the best scoring performance of his career.

Vincius' form - the first Brazilian to score in two Champions League finals - is well-deserved to earn him the Ballon d'Or later this year.

However, at the national team level, the 23-year-old has never shown the same form as when he worked with his father Ancelotti in Madrid.

Vinicius has only scored 3 goals for Brazil, half the number of Rodrygo and Raphinha. Even Endrick has reached that number after only 6 international matches.

This is partly because coaches, from Tite to Ramon Menezes, Fernando Diniz to Dorival, have not understood Vini's emotions.

In the preparation for the 48th edition of Copa America, Dorival is trying to "copy" Ancelotti. He talked to Vinicius to understand him better, as well as playing this player as a center forward like at Real Madrid in the 2023-24 season.

Brazil is waiting for Vinicius to break Argentina's dominance in the United States, where Messi has created a real revolution with the "Messimania" effect, since his arrival at Inter Miami.

"Without a doubt, Vinicius is the best in the world", center-back Eder Militao believes in his teammate in Madrid. Along with the expectation comes great pressure on Vini's shoulders in his effort to bring Brazil back to the number 1 position in South America.