On 28 February 2019, Vinícius was called up to the Brazil national team for the first time for friendlies against Panama and the Czech Republic. However, he suffered an injury while playing for Real Madrid, and David Neres was called up in his place in March. In May 2019, he was excluded from Brazil's final 23-man squad for the 2019 Copa América by manager Tite. He finally made his senior international debut on 10 September 2019, as a 72nd-minute substitute in Brazil's 1–0 defeat to Peru.