Brazil coach Dorival Jr on Friday extolled Vinicius Jr’s skill on the field after the Real Madrid forward propelled Brazil to a 4-1 Copa America victory over Paraguay.
Vinicius terrorized Paraguay’s defense with his pace and trickery as he scored two goals in an impressive display, a far cry from his performance in Brazil’s 0-0 draw with Costa Rica in their opening group-stage match, in which he was largely ineffectual.
“Today he played a very important role,” Dorival told reporters, speaking with the help of a translator. “He played an almost perfect match, he created very good situations and opportunities. He was dynamic, very effective and straightforward and direct.”
Photo: AFP
“He played well with other players and teamed up nicely, he has great capacity,” Dorival said.
Brazil next face group leaders Colombia in California on Tuesday, where a draw would be enough to secure qualification for the quarter-finals.
Colombia are on a run of 25 matches without defeat and beat Brazil 2-1 in a World Cup 2026 qualifier in November. On Friday, they beat Costa Rica 3-0 in Arizona to guarantee a spot in the knockouts.
Photo: AFP
“I think that we’ll have a match of a very high level, with players that know each other, that usually play against each other,” Dorival said. “These are different teams that are undergoing different moments, but I have no doubts that Brazil will perform at the highest level, and I expect that it will be better than these two first matches.”
In an emotional news conference, the teary-eyed Brazil coach also spoke at length about his uncle and former international Dudu, who died aged 84 on Friday night.
“Dudu was a reference to me as a player, as a coach, but especially as a human being,” Dorival said. “He was always worrying about everyone else but himself. He was a role model to me, I always wanted to follow his steps. To me, he means a great lot, in addition to the amazing history he had.”
“I think I never met anyone like him. He was the second father to me, he guided me at every time in my life,” he said.
Additional reporting by AFP
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