I’ll leave stopping Modric to Casemiro, says Vinicius Junior

Dancing with the Stars is something Vinicius Junior enjoys watching on TV and doing on Qatari fields. Every time Brazil score at this FIFA World Cup, indeed, the electrifying winger can be seen performing celebratory jigs with Lucas Paqueta, Neymar, Raphinha, Richarlison and Co. The Seleção struck four times in the first half of a whitewash of Korea Republic, with their 22-year-old No20 masterfully scoring one and mercurially assisting another. And you know what followed. Ahead of a quarter-final against Croatia, Vinicius Junior speaks to FIFA about how to stop Luka Modric, how it feels to be part of Brazil’s brilliant attack, and his dancing.

What kind of match do you expect against Croatia?
It’s going to be a very tough match. They came second in the last World Cup. We’re preparing ourselves to play an excellent match. We’ll give our best in the game like we did against Korea by pressing them and trying to score, which is always very important to us.

You play with Modric at Real Madrid. How can you stop him?
Modric is a great player. He’s taught me a lot – not just on the pitch but off it too. I’m very happy that I know him and that I get to see him every day. He’s not just a great player, but a great person too. He does everything not just for me, but for Rodrygo and Militao too. He always tries to support young players like us. Regarding playing against him, I always like to play against the best players. Playing against Modric is going to be very special. As far as neutralising him goes, I’ll leave that to Casemiro because he can do a better job than me! He knows Modric really well because they played together for a long time.

You, Raphinha, Neymar, Richarlison... Brazil’s attack is really impressive. How does it feel to be a part of it?
I’m very happy to be among the best and to play with the best. We all get along really well. I believe this is key for us, to trust each other and know that if I can’t do something then Neymar can, and if Neymar can’t do it then I will do that for him. The same goes for Raphinha and Richarlison and all the players on the bench. When they come on, they’ll give their best for the team and for us. It’s always good to play with them.

Can you tell us about your dancing to celebrate goals?
The most important part of football is when you score. I always try to show my happiness on the pitch to the people who are watching. It makes me really happy that my dancing makes other people happy. I hope I can dance all the time.