Real Madrid star Vinícius Jr. hits back at his Brazil critics: ‘3 or 4 players marking me’ | OneFootball

Brazil and Real Madrid star Vinícius Jr. has today moved to hit back at his many critics, on the back of his latest display on the international stage.

Wide-man Vinícius, for his part, marked his return to action in the early hours of Tuesday.

As much came as Brazil kicked the country’s Copa América campaign into gear, in a meeting with Costa Rica.

The Seleção headed into the matchup boasting overwhelming favourite status, no doubt eager to get their endeavours at the South American showpiece up-and-running in positive fashion.

In turn, it marked a major blow for Dorival’s troops when, upon the full-time whistle bringing proceedings to a close, they were forced to settle for a share of the spoils.

Despite a star-studded line-up taking to the pitch for Brazil, their efforts to break down a stubborn Costa Rican backline came up short, en route to a goalless stalemate.

Post-match, a whole host of the nation’s headline names, in turn, were singled out for inevitable criticism.

And front and centre was the aforementioned Vinícius Jr.

Long the subject of condemnation for his performances at international level, Real Madrid’s talismanic attacker was accused of again failing to step up when it mattered most.

Drawn on as much in the game’s aftermath, however, Vinícius was in defiant mood.

Speaking to reporters, as cited by Goal, the 23-year-old first pointed towards the individual challenges he faces when lining out for Brazil:

“Every time I enter the field for the national team, I have three or four players marking me.”

He then went on to call for patience on the part of the Seleção faithful:

“New coach, new players, everything takes time. Our fans want everything immediately done, but we’re going little by little. In the next game, I’m sure we’ll play much better because we now already understand what the competition will be like, what the pitch, and what the referees will be like. We know we can improve, we have to improve. I also know what I can improve, evolve and do for our team.”

Conor Laird | GSFN