Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior has apologized to Brazilian fans after the national team suffered yet another defeat to Paraguay during the World Cup qualifiers, marking their first loss to Paraguay since 2008.
The Seleção has now lost four of their last five World Cup qualifiers, sitting in 5th place after eight games, with only 10 points accumulated. They have picked up just four points from the available 18 in their last five qualifying matches.
During an interview with Brazilian TV channel Globo, Vinicius, while attributing his difference in performance between Brazil and Real Madrid to the pitch, urged fans to stay calm as he promised that the team would bounce back:
“This happened after Brazil head coach Dorival Junior guaranteed that we will be in the 2026 World Cup final. I want to ask the fans for forgiveness,” Vinicius said.
“I know it’s a complicated moment, but we will be back. You can’t compare performances with Real Madrid… games in Europe are faster than here, that’s simple. The ball moves faster because of the field. We have to adapt to play in the best way to win games for Brazil.”
The Ballon d’Or favorite has been outstanding for Real Madrid, scoring 20+ goals in each of the last three seasons, but he has not been able to replicate such form with the Seleção, managing just 5 goals in his 35 caps for Brazil.
