Vinicius Junior says he needed a bit of confidence after going seven matches without a goal before scoring in Brazils comeback win over Australia in an action-packed international friendly in Brisbane on Tuesday. Forward Vinicius Juniors only previous goal this season had been for Real Madrid in a 4-1 home win over Real Sociedad in La Liga on August 26, with his penalty 10 minutes from time against the Socceroos the 26-year-olds first in four internationals. Bruno is the penalty taker for us when [Raphinha] isnt there and I thought he wanted to take it, Vinicius Junior told SporTV, explaining why he had pointed at the Arsenal midfielder before converting the spot kick for the final goal in the 4-2 win.But he knows I needed a bit of confidence. It had been a few games since I last scored, but its important to get back to scoring and important to get back to playing with our national team.Now its time to rest over these next few days and travel to India [for a friendly on Saturday], because our fan base there is huge and they are waiting for us. Australia vs Brazil: Raphinha was penalty takerSelecao head coach Carlo Ancelotti saw Raphinha score the first of Brazils two penalties, equalising in the 45th minute after Vanderson had given the visitors an early lead but Alessandro Circatis flick and Connor Metcalfes long-range strike had put Australia 2-1 ahead.Raphinha was the penalty taker and he took the first one, said Ancelotti, also referencing Bruno Guimaraes finish at the end of a slick team move to put Brazil 3-2 in front in the 69th minute.Bruno was the second but Bruno had already scored, so I think Vini deserved to score. He took the penalty well.Raphinha, who is the runaway top scorer in La Liga with 12 goals this season for Barcelona, was replaced at half-time by Endrick, who set up Bruno Guimaraes goal. Vinicius Junior penalty best for BrazilNew �75 million Gunners signing Guimaraes suggested the situation over the penalty reflected a set of Brazil players who dont have any ego.In [a previous] game, Ancelotti told me to take it, said the 28-year-old, who spoke last week of his enduring pain at having a penalty saved in Brazils 2-1 last-16 exit to Norway at the World Cup 2026.Todaym he told Vini to take it. Vini also needed to score a goal he went up and took it really well. We want whats best for Brazil, thats what matters to us.Im happy for him and for the game we played. Bruno Guimaraes: Brazil on new pathRecord five-time world champions Brazil have been criticised for their showing at the finals, which included falling behind in a draw with Morocco and conceding first against Japan in the last 32 before securing a last-gasp win.The tournament was Ancelottis first as a national manager and the Italian gave a debut to 20-year-old goalkeeper Otavio following a 1-1 draw with Australia four days earlier in which Rayan equalised for the visitors in the 94th minute.Its the beginning of a new journey for us, said Guimaraes. A lot of people want immediate results right away and we really understand the fans because theyre suffering and hurt, and so are we because of everything thats been happening. The first game [against Australia] wasnt good at all nothing like what we were expecting. Today we came in with a new strategy.But beyond the system we play, whether its 433 or 424, we as players also have to take responsibility to perform better.In the first game, the pitch made things very difficult for us. Today the pitch was a bit better and we performed better and were able to keep the ball more.We also have to highlight that today we changed seven players from the last game, so its a team in development. We know we need to give a response.Anyone who loves the Brazilian national team will be happy with the result and the performance. It was good. It can be better, but it shows were on a good path or so I hope. Brazil team vs AustraliaDanilo Santos, Guimaraes, Raphinha and Vinicius Junior were the only retained players in Brazils line-up from the draw four days earlier.Santos midfielder Gabriel Bontempo also made his debut and PSV winger Mauro Junior was given a full bow, having come off the bench in the first game against Australia.Brazil: Otavio, Vanderson, Jair Cunha, Gabriel Magalhaes, Mauro Junior, Gabriel Bontemp, Bruno Guimaraes, Danilo Santos, Rayan, Raphinha, Vinicius JuniorSubstitutes: Hugo Souza, Marquinhos, Douglas Santos, Endrick, Willian Estevao, Matheuzinho, Vitor Reis, Arthur Dias, Breno Bidon, Douglas Luiz, Pedro, Matheus Martinelli, Andrey Santos, Samuel Lino, Pedro MoriscoAustralia vs Brazil friendly statsAustralias only win over Brazil is a 1-0 victory in the Confederations Cup third-place match in Ulsan in June 2001, Shaun Murphy heading the goal in the 84th minuteThey had gone more than four hours and four minutes of football between that goal and their next against Brazil through IrankundaSix of the previous nine meetings between the sides had resulted in Brazil wins with clean sheets, including each of the preceding three before that 1-1 draw last weekBy scoring those first-half goals in Brisbane, Australia doubled their all-time tally against Brazil and scored twice in a game against the Selecao for the first timeEach of their preceding three matches had finished all-square after 90 minutes, going four without a win since their 2-0 victory over Turkey during the World Cup group stage on June 13That was the only occasion in their last seven matches when Australia had scored more than once in a game, since a 5-1 win over Curacao in the FIFA Series in Melbourne on March 31Twenty-two of the previous 24 goals in the fixture had been scored by Brazil, including five for the all-time top scorer in the encounter, RomarioWhile he was a player at Crystal Palace, Popovic spent time learning from current Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti while the Italian was boss at MilanBrazil have scored in 15 consecutive matches since a 1-0 defeat in Bolivia in World Cup qualifying in September 2025, although they had netted exactly once in three of their four preceding games to thisIncluding this goal, Raphinha has 15 goals in 10 appearances across La Liga, the Champions League and Brazil games since the start of the season Topics Australia Men's National Soccer Team Brazil National Football Team Bruno Guimaraes Carlo Ancelotti Raphinha Vinicius Jr Vinicius Junior Add us as a preferred source on Google If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read Australia 2-4 Brazil: Report, result, goals as Selecao come from behind to win thriller Ben Miller 29th September, 2026 Australia vs Brazil live: Raphinha penalty sends Selecao in level Ben Miller 29th September, 2026 Australia v Brazil: Preview, where to watch and prediction as Selecao take on Socceroos Jon Fisher 29th September, 2026 Australia v Brazil: Confirmed team news and line-ups as Rayan comes into starting XI Jon Fisher 29th September, 2026 Australia 1-1 Brazil: Rayan rescues Selecao after Irankunda stunner Nicholas McGee 25th September, 2026 Australia vs Brazil: Preview, expected line-ups, stats and where to watch Mitch Fretton 24th September, 2026
