The star of the Brazilian national team, Vinicius Junior, appeared in press statements after the victory over Paraguay 1-0 in the 16th round of the South American qualifiers for the World Cup.

Vinicius said after securing qualification for the World Cup: "I am very happy with today's result. It was also necessary to win at home for our fans and to qualify for the World Cup, which is our goal. Now the coach will have more time to work and see what can be improved."

He continued, the scorer of the only goal of the match: "Today’s match was not one of our best performances, but the important thing in the qualifiers is to win and prepare well for the World Cup."

He added about his absence from the next round against Chile due to suspension: "It is unfortunate that I will miss the next match, but in the qualifiers, it is tough. Just two cards and you get suspended; you make one mistake, and you are at risk of suspension."

He concluded: "Now it’s time to celebrate our qualification. Some will go on vacation, while others have the Club World Cup... I hope everyone enjoys as much as possible. From September, we need to start preparing for the World Cup."