“I have to listen to Mister more often”

Brazilian superstar Vinicius Junior has revealed that Carlo Ancelotti’s advice helped him score against Haiti in the FIFA World Cup. He scored the third goal for the Selecao to secure a 3-0 win against Haiti on Friday, June 19.

Following an underwhelming start to the tournament, where they were held to a 1-1 draw against Morocco, Brazil looked much improved against Haiti. Manchester United forward Matheus Cunha scored a brace before Vinicius Junior scored the third in the third minute of first-half stoppage time.

The Real Madrid star made a run behind the Haiti defence and was picked out expertly by Lucas Paqueta. After the game, the 25-year-old revealed that Carlo Ancelotti encouraged him to drift centrally between the centre-backs and it worked out for him. He said, as quoted by Madrid Xtra:

“Carlo Ancelotti asked me to play deep between the CBs. I score goals when I play there. I have to listen to Mister more often. Surely now he’ll say he knows a lot about football (laughs).”

Vinicius Junior quite naturally shares a solid chemistry with now-Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti having previously worked with him at Real Madrid. He played under the Italian from 2021 to 2025 at the Santiago Bernabeu and became one of the best players in the world.

The fleet-footed forward has so far played 198 appearances under Ancelotti and has contributed with 90 goals and 67 assists. They won 11 trophies together at the Santiago Bernabeu, including two LaLiga titles and two Champions Leagues.

Brazil superstar Vinicius Jr raises complaint about 2026 FIFA World Cup

Brazil superstar Vinicius Junior raised concerns about the conditions following their 1-1 draw against Morocco in their FIFA World Cup opener. He insisted that the heat in the United States made it difficult for them to dominate proceedings and that the grass was drying quickly. He said:

“The heat is constant, the grass dries out very quickly, and the game becomes very sluggish. We can’t find our rhythm, and it creates difficulties for us because we want to play, we want to move the ball from one flank to the other, and this disrupts our style of play.”

Brazil did well to come back to their usual best after their disappointing performance against Morocco in the FIFA World Cup. They absolutely dominated Haiti to secure a 3-0 win with Matheus Cunha scoring a brace and Vinicius Junior scoring once.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side will take on Scotland in their final group stage game on June 24. They are currently joint top of Group C, level on points with Morocco but ahead on goal difference.