Official! Former Flamengo, Vinícius Jr. is nominated for the best player in the world award

Brazil ended its participation in the Paris Paralympics this Sunday (8) with its best campaign in the history of the competition. According to the objective established by the Brazilian Paralympic Committee, the Brazilian delegation in Paris broke the record for medals in a single edition of the Games, with 89, achieved the highest number of golds, 25, and secured the unprecedented top 5 in the medals table.

It was not easy to secure fifth place. After spending the first few days among the five best countries at the Paralympics, Brazil came to occupy eighth place in the medals quarter at the end of Thursday (5), four days before the end of the Games. But from Friday (6) recovery came. With four gold medals won, Brazil reached seventh place and came up against France and Italy, which would become the great opponent for fifth place.

Medal after medal, Brazil and Italy fought for the top 5 in the table of medals. On Saturday (7), Brazilian athletes secured the country's best day in the history of the Paralympics with six golds, three silvers and seven bronzes, and sixth place in the classification. With such a performance, Brazil surpassed the 72 podiums and 22 gold medals from Tokyo 2022, achieving its best campaign in both categories.

However, it still lacked a position in the top five. The Italians had 24 gold medals, one more gold medal than Brazil, and slept in fifth place. That would change this Sunday morning (8).

In the first events of the last day of the race, Brazil won two more gold medals and overtook Italy. First, Fernando Rufino was champion in canoeing, winning gold in the 200m VL2 and leaving the countries tied. The race also had another Brazilian on the podium. Igor Tofalini finished in second place and took silver. Then, in the event that would bring the top 5 to Brazil, Tayana Medeiros broke the Paralympic record by lifting 156kg in the 86kg category and took gold.

Italy did not win any competition and no longer competes in competitions. Thus, Brazil guaranteed its best campaign in the history of the Paralympics. The great Brazilian highlights, as usual, were athletics, which reached its 200th medals won, and swimming, with 36 for the first and 26 for the second discipline.

The Brazilian team welcomed defender Fabrício Bruno this Sunday, but even so, coach Dorival Júnior did not have the complete group for training in Curitiba. Physically worn out, left-back Guilherme Arana, midfielders André and Lucas Paquetá and striker Vini Júnior were absent from the activity held at Athletico-PR's Caju training center.

According to the CBF, the quartet was only out of training due to load control and has no injuries. This way, Dorival will only have training this Monday to prepare the squad to face Paraguay. The duel valid for the eighth round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers will take place on Tuesday, at 9:30 pm (Brasília time), at the Defensores del Chaco stadium, in Asunción.

Summoned up to replace Éder Militão, cut , Fabrício Bruno arrived in Curitiba this Sunday morning and, in the afternoon, he went to the field with his teammates. The press was only able to follow the first 15 minutes of the activity.

This Monday, Brazil plays the last work before the match against Paraguay. Then, embark for Asunción. After beating Ecuador 1-0 last Friday, the Seleção occupies fourth place in the Qualifiers, with 10 points, eight less than leaders Argentina.

Flamengo's creation, Vinícius Júnior remains strong in the fight for the season's Ballon d'Or. The awards ceremony will take place on October 28th at the Théâtre du Châtelet, in Paris. This last Monday (1), Carlo Ancelotti, coach of Real Madrid (ESP), opened the game and highlighted that Garoto do Ninho deserves to be considered.

"Vinicius Júnior will win the Ballon d'Or, in my opinion Carvajal also did very well, he won LaLiga, the Champions League, he scored a goal in the final, he won the Euro… But Vinicius… a talented, young player, with a good image, he won LaLiga, the Champions League, he scored a goal in the final and the semi-final. He scored two in Munich", said Carlo Ancelotti, in an interview with The Obi One Podcast.

Vini Jr was more than decisive for Real Madrid's achievements last season. . Garoto do Ninho entered the field on 39 occasions. During the period, he scored 24 goals and provided nine assists to his teammates. Thus, it was the striker's best scoring season.

The main competitors for the Ballon d'Or are Real Madrid's own players: Jude Bellingham, Dani Cavajal and Kylian Mbappé, who was at PSG (FRA). Furthermore, Rodri, from Manchester City (ING), and Harry Kane, from Bayern Munich (ALE), are also on the list.

If he wins the Ballon d'Or, Vini Jr will be able to break a fast in Brazilian football that has lasted 17 years. This is because the last time a Brazilian won the "title" of Best in the World was in 2007, when Kaká, playing for Milan (ITA), beat Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.