Vinicius Jr turned the Maracana into his personal homecoming celebration, scoring a stunning early goal and setting up another as Brazil swept aside Panama 6-2 in an international friendly on Sunday, sharpening their edge with less than a fortnight to go before the World Cup.
The five-time world champions were without Neymar for the occasion, with the veteran forward expected to miss Brazil’s Group C opener against Morocco on 13 June due to a calf injury. Gabriel Magalhaes, Marquinhos and Gabriel Martinelli were also absent, rested following Arsenal’s Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain on the Saturday.
That left the spotlight squarely on Vinicius, back at the ground where he first made his name as a youngster coming through Flamengo’s academy. He wasted no time making his mark. Within two minutes of kick-off, Casemiro intercepted Panama’s attempt to play out from the back, and Vinicius pounced on the loose ball, drove forward with purpose and rifled a fierce strike from the edge of the box into the top left corner.
Panama offered a momentary response in the 14th minute when Michael Murillo’s free-kick deflected off Matheus Cunha in the wall, wrongfooting Alisson and creeping inside the left post to silence the crowd. The upset, however, was short-lived.
Vinicius restored Brazil’s lead in fine style in the 39th minute, gliding past two defenders on the left flank before delivering a precise cross for Casemiro to head home and make it 2-1 at the break.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti made sweeping changes at half-time, replacing all but centre-back Leo Pereira from his starting line-up, and the substitutes wasted little time contributing. Seven minutes after the restart, Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera’s error in attempting to play with his feet handed Rayan a simple tap-in to make it 3-1.
Lucas Paqueta added the fourth in the 60th minute with a curling effort that deflected beyond Mosquera, before Igor Thiago converted from the penalty spot three minutes later after being brought down by the goalkeeper to make it 5-1. Danilo completed the scoring in the 81st minute with a composed finish from inside the box, before Carlos Harvey rounded off the evening with a thunderous strike into the top corner for Panama’s second.
Brazil now face Egypt next weekend before opening their World Cup campaign against Morocco on 13 June. Panama, placed in Group L alongside England, Croatia and Ghana, have fixtures against the Dominican Republic and Bosnia before their World Cup debut against Ghana on 16 June.
