Vinicius Jr. has become the most important player at Real Madrid. However, his performances for Brazil remain below par.

Vinicius Junior's costly penalty miss resulted in Brazil dropping points against Venezuela in the 2026 CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier on Thursday night.

Vinicius Júnior is still without a goal in six matches of World Cup qualifying. He had the chance to score a potential winner after he earned the penalty in the 67th minute but his low spot kick was saved by goalkeeper Rafael Romo and the Brazil forward then shot wide from the rebound.

Brazil's path to the 2026 FIFA World Cup hit a snag after only managing a 1–1 draw with Venezuela at the Estadio Monumental de Maturín. After securing just two victories in its first six 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers,

Brazil were held to a 1-1 draw at Venezuela with Vinicius Junior missing a penalty in their CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier on Thursday. The result leaves the five-times World Cup winners in third place on 17 points -- the top six South American teams qualify automatically for the 2026 World Cup.