Published On 7/6/2026
Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior defended his failure to execute the penalty kick awarded to his country, yesterday, Sunday, during the final 16 against Norway in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, considering that his fellow midfielder Bruno Guimaraes executed it “better” than him.
While the score was still (0-0) in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the Norwegian goalkeeper brilliantly blocked Guimaraes’ shot. The match ended with Norway’s victory (2-1) and Brazil’s elimination.
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The Spanish Real Madrid star and top scorer in the tournament with four goals, along with Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, were subjected to severe criticism for assigning this task to Guimaraes.
Vinicius said after the match, “The coach decides in advance who will take the kicks. He chose Bruno. I was never arrogant, and I never sought to be the top scorer in the tournament, and that is why Bruno took the kick. He takes penalty kicks better than me, and that is why the coach chose him.”
He added, “I have never shied away from my responsibilities. Many will say that I did not want to execute, but I have never hidden. I execute penalty kicks at Real Madrid when the coach chooses me. We have to prepare better for the next World Cup and for the upcoming matches.”
For his part, Ancelotti explained in a press conference that, based on the statistics of players taking penalty kicks, he decided to assign this task, in order, to “Neymar, then Rafinha, Bruno Guimaraes, and Gabriel Martinelli,” noting that the first two were not on the field in the first half.
The Brazilian team, which won the title five times, recorded its worst result in the World Cup since the Italian finals in 1990, when it was also eliminated from the same round.
Vinicius (25 years old) said, “It is a very sad day for us, and exiting the World Cup is always a very hard blow, but now we have to continue on the path. There is not much to do except apologize to our fans who believed in us again.”
