Five goals in five years: Vinicius Jr must improve his dismal record with Brazil or risk World Cup embarrassment in 2026.

Just over two weeks after Real Madrid boycotted the Ballon d’Or ceremony after discovering that big favorite Vinicius Jr had not in fact won the award, we now know that the race for this award was extremely tight. Rodri won by just 41 points, which, given that points are awarded in France Football’s confusing voting system, is about as close as it gets. It now seems even more ridiculous that the Whites have pulled out of football’s biggest awards ceremony by such slim margins.

But perhaps there is a lesson to be learned from Vinicius’ second place. It was an extremely close decision, and we’ll never really know what exactly made voters lean towards Rodri over Vinicius. But one could assume that Spain’s success at Euro 2024 played a pretty big role. Rodri was named Player of the Tournament as La Roja triumphed in Germany, seamlessly transporting their imperial form from the blue of Manchester to the red of Spain.

Vinicius’ summer, meanwhile, didn’t go so well. There have been periods of the season – certainly the last few months – where it could be argued that his club performances were better than Rodri’s. But he ultimately disappointed with his lackluster performance for Brazil, culminating in his suspension as the Seleção were eliminated from the Copa América in the quarter-finals.

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This is nothing new for Vinicius. He has been playing for Brazil for five years and has been a regular starter for three years, with 35 caps to his name. During this period, he only found the net five times. A surprisingly poor record for a player of his quality.

Shining with Brazil was therefore not only the missing ingredient in Vinicius’ argument for the Ballon d’Or, but remains the ultimate challenge of his footballing career. It has just over 18 months left to find solutions on the international stage; otherwise, when the world looks ahead to 2026, it could experience greater embarrassment on the global stage.