“Football is happiness. It’s a dance. It’s a true party,” Pelé had said and here, on the night he watched from the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in São Paulo, it was. O Rei had posted that in September to encourage Vinícius Júnior never to back down in the face of abuse: if he wanted to celebrate goals dancing, he should dance. In fact, they all should. “We will not allow racism to stop us smiling”, he had insisted; “dance, Vini,” became the command, going viral; and by the time Brazil reached Qatar, they had a whole repertoire, ready to perform.
“We have 10 different dances,” Richarlison revealed, one for each goal they scored. They threatened to run out in a single night, a single half. In the end it was “only” four, all scored within 36 minutes, special delivery.
