World Cup 2014: Brazil can cope without Neymar, says Scolari
Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari says his side will cope without
injured forward Neymar when they face Germany in Tuesday's World Cup
semi-final.
The 22-year-old has scored four of Brazil's 10 goals at
the tournament but will play no further part after he suffered a
fractured vertebra in the
2-1 quarter-final win over Colombia.
Scolari said his squad were fully focused on the task at hand.
"Neymar has done his share. Now it's up to us to do our share," the coach said.
"We have accepted what has happened and we are focusing on other things.
"In this match we will be playing not just for
ourselves and everything we've ever dreamed of, but also for Neymar and
everything he's done for us."
Neymar's back was injured in a challenge by Colombia's Juan Zuniga, although
Fifa confirmed on Monday that no action would be taken
against the defender.
Captain Thiago Silva,
who is suspended for Tuesday's game,
reflected the anger within Brazil's squad at the manner of their
talisman's injury when he called Zuniga's tackle "a coward's challenge".
However, Germany coach Joachim Low reiterated his
opinion that the Brazilians were equally robust and has called on
Mexican official Marco Antonio Rodriguez to take a tough line in
Tuesday's semi-final in Belo Horizonte.
"I hope the referee, Mr Rodriguez from Mexico, will clamp down on things," Low said.
"That physical energy in the match against Colombia
went beyond the limits in Europe. In Europe, 22 players wouldn't have
ended that match.
"Colombia against Brazil was a real fight with numerous
fouls from both sides, not just the one foul against Neymar. You have
to protect the players."
The atmosphere around the Brazil squad is currently
approaching fever pitch as the nation is gripped by the expectation and
anticipation of reaching the World Cup final at the Maracana on Sunday.
The semi-final at Belo Horizonte's Estadio Mineirao is a
62,000-plus sell-out and passengers arriving at the city's airport on
Monday were greeted at arrivals by Brazil fans holding up placards,
desperate to buy prized tickets for the game.
Germany have only played Brazil once in the World Cup - the latter's 2-0 win in the 2002 final
Brazil's only previous World Cup meeting with Germany
was the 2002 final in Japan, a game in which Scolari claimed his first
triumph in the tournament with a 2-0 win.
Germany, however, are playing in their fourth
successive World Cup semi-final, and hope to reach their first final
since that defeat by Brazil.
Coach Low said his side would be facing the force of the entire Brazilian nation.
He said: "They will have the support of 200 million people and they will unleash that energy to make it difficult for us."
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Scolari refused to reveal who would replace Neymar,
saying: "I know the starting line-up and when they walk on the field you
will see why I made those choices.
"I will tell the Brazilian people that we are doing our best and doing what we think is necessary - all of us.
"Sometimes this is not in a very beautiful way but we're moving forward one step at a time towards the final."
He added: "We will miss Neymar but we have a team who
can overcome the difficulties and go into the final. We will play for
us, for Neymar, for our population but above all we will go after the
goal this group had had since the beginning - to play in the World Cup
final at home."
Low echoed those sentiments and refused to entertain the idea that the absences of Neymar and Silva would weaken Brazil.
"Others will feel invigorated," the Germany coach said.
"You've seen teams lose some players and others accept the
responsibility.
"They'll be on the pitch fighting for Neymar and the nation to make sure they reach the final."
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