On Tuesday evening, in the World Cup semi-final, hosts Brazil will face the Germans, who have reached the semi-finals for the fourth time in a row. The Brazilian national team has serious losses - leader Neymar withdrew from the championship due to injury, and captain Thiago Silva will not be able to play due to yellow cards. Nevertheless, national team coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is convinced that the Brazilian people will see their gods in the final.
The 22-year-old team leader Neymar scored four of Brazil's eight goals in this championship, but suffered a serious injury in the quarter-finals against Colombia and had to leave the championship. However, FIFA, after reviewing the incident, decided not to punish Juan Zuniga, who injured Neymar.
Before the semi-final match against Germany, L.F. Scolari said that Neymar has already done his part: "Neymar has already done his part for our national team, now it's time for us to do ours. We have come to terms with what happened and we look forward. In the semi-finals, we will play not only for what we have always dreamed of, but also for Neymar, who has done so much for us."
The German national team coach Joachim Low hoped that the referee would not allow rough play in the semi-finals: "I hope that referee Marco Antonio Rodriguez will not allow rough play. The physical strength in the Brazil and Colombia matches was something that Europe could not imagine. In Europe, 22 players would not have survived such matches. This was not only a loss for Neymar, but also a variety of other episodes. We need to protect our players."
The semi-final will take place in Belo Horizonte, where the stadium is expected to be fully packed - all 62 thousand tickets were sold, and Brazilians at the airport walk around with posters begging incoming foreigners to sell their tickets.
Brazil and Germany met in the 2002 World Cup final. Then, the Brazilians celebrated a 2-0 victory.
J. Low understands who his pupils will have to face: "They will have the support of 200 million people, and they will release that energy to make it as hard as possible for us. Neymar's loss will only strengthen them. They will fight for the honor of the whole nation."
L.F. Scolari refused to reveal who will take Neymar's place on the field: "I already know the starting lineup and when they appear on the field, you will understand why I decided that way. I will tell the Brazilian people that we are doing everything necessary to win. Maybe not the most beautiful way, but still, we are moving towards the final. We will miss Neymar, but our team can manage without him. We will play for our people and our only goal - to play in the final."
15min.lt
