Vinicius Junior played a starring role in the friendly clash between Spain and Brazil, which ended 3-3, and will forever be remembered for his tearful press conference before the match. Yet his game was one of frustration, which he took out on various Spain players.
Teammate Dani Carvajal swallowed him up during the match, and he was withdrawn in the 71st minute, but not before picking a fight with Aymeric Laporte, walking up and pushing him in the back without provocation. Laporte responded on Twitter, saying ‘maybe he just wanted to dance…?’
Quizá quería bailar..? 🕺🏻🤷🏻♂️😂 https://t.co/2zSbkjOpNi
— Aymeric Laporte (@Laporte) March 26, 2024
He was giving a standing ovation as he left when substituted, one of two to receive on alongside Lamine Yamal. Once off the pitch, Endrick Felipe took two swipes at Marc Cucurella, which brought on the ire of the Spain bench. Vinicius was quickly on his feet again to argue with Mikel Oyarzabal, who was preparing to come on.
Se caldea el ambiente entre Cucurella y Endrick que ha soltado la pierna contra el futbolista de la selección española#SelecciónRTVE https://t.co/5nU3wsd108 pic.twitter.com/8rscN5dwvy
— Teledeporte (@teledeporte) March 26, 2024
When Alvaro Morata was brought off by Luis de la Fuente, he was whistled by the home fans, clearly not forgetting his Atletico Madrid allegiances at the Santiago Bernabeu. Morata reacted to the crowd, and Vinicius was quick to cross the dugout to get in his face too.
Ya t pongo yo le de Morata…está enganchado con la grada y Vini va a recriminar eso. pic.twitter.com/eWXDGs56Pb
— Lolo Riera (@RieraCostales) March 27, 2024
At the end of the match, Joselu Mato, his Real Madrid teammate appeared to ask for explanations from the Brazilian – he had said publicly last week that he supports Vinicius in the battle against racism, but that he also had to improve his behaviour on the pitch, as Vinicius himself has admitted.
Joselu told #vinijr last week that he had to improve his behaviour on the pitch, and last night it looks like he told him again.pic.twitter.com/BxcNeBHp6H
— Football España (@footballespana_) March 27, 2024
At the end of the game Manchester City star and Spain’s leader Rodri Hernandez told MD that “I didn’t really get all the fights. We have a lot on the line at the end of the season, and ultimately, you have to try and avoid injuries.”
