After a disappointing Copa América debut, Brazil’s Vinícius Júnior has admitted that he and his teammates “can and must improve”.
In the Group D opener on Monday in Los Angeles, Costa Rica held the Seleção to a goalless draw.
Just three of Brazil’s 19 efforts on goal, which featured Vinícius and Rodrygo of Real Madrid, found the back of the net.
“We have to improve, we know we can improve,” Vinícius remarked. “I also know what I can improve, evolve and do for our team.”
Coach Dorival Junior was frustrated with Brazil’s performance against Costa Rica’s five-man defense and eventually replaced Endrick with Vinícius in the 71st minute.
“We tried with him [Vinícius] on the wing and we didn’t succeed,” he stated. “Then we put him inside and we couldn’t find a way through either … he was very well marked.”
In the 71st minute, Dorival substituted Sávio for Raphinha, but their problems persisted.
He declared, “We had to figure out a way.” “I was attempting to alter things. We experimented with many approaches and set up multiple scenarios, but ultimately, we were unable to complete.”
Brazil last won the competition in 2019 and lost the most recent edition’s final to Argentina 1-0 at home two years later.
They have gone into the tournament, which is being held in the United States, in the midst of a disappointing South American World Cup qualifying campaign. Brazil are sixth in the standings after winning only two of their six qualifiers and suffering three defeats, results that led to Dorival’s appointment in January.
Despite the absence of their all-time top scorer Neymar, who is recovering from an injury, Vinícius’ stellar season at Real Madrid raised expectations among Brazil’s supporters. He has pleaded with Brazil supporters to wait.
“Everything takes time, new players, new coach,” Vinícius remarked. “While our supporters want everything finished right away, we’re moving slowly. We will undoubtedly perform much better in the next game because we already know how the opposition, the field, and the referees will be.”There are three or four players that follow me onto the pitch whenever I play for the national team.”
“The game is over, we continue, let’s train and get better for the next game. I trust this group a lot and I know that they will do the best they can for themselves, their family, and all Brazilian fans!” Neymar, who watched Monday’s match from the stands at the SoFi stadium, expressed optimism about his country’s chances on Instagram.
