{"id":30428,"date":"2014-07-08T12:15:17","date_gmt":"2014-07-08T12:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=30428"},"modified":"2014-07-08T13:11:32","modified_gmt":"2014-07-08T13:11:32","slug":"wc-2014-brazil-germany-semi-final-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/07\/wc-2014-brazil-germany-semi-final-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"W\/C 2014: Brazil – Germany semi-final preview"},"content":{"rendered":"
Brazil captain Thiago Silva is banned, so Dante will deputise, but they have Luis Gustavo back from suspension.<\/p>\n
With Neymar injured, Brazil could field a central midfield three, or else pick an attack-minded replacement such as Willian or Bernard.<\/p>\n
Germany coach Joachim Low must decide whether to recall centre-back Per Mertesacker, who was left out against France for tactical reasons.<\/p>\n
Low has reported no fresh injury concerns ahead of the match.<\/p>\n
Without Neymar, their leading scorer and talisman, and without suspended captain Thiago Siva, Brazil are going to have to do it the hard way if they are going to make the final of their own World Cup.<\/p>\n
Neymar’s controversial tournament-ending back injury has unsurprisingly dominated the build-up to their semi-final with the impressive Germans.<\/p>\n
Billed as the World Cup’s poster boy for so long, the 22-year-old has absolutely lived up to expectations. His four goals and decisive penalty in the shootout win over Chile has arguably carried his country this far. Now it is up to Luiz Felipe Scolari to conjure up a Plan B from within his squad.<\/p>\n
Brazilian great Zico has said ahead of the match: “The players have a chance to draw energy from Neymar’s sacrifice. They need to leave their souls on the pitch as a tribute for this kid.”<\/p>\n
This is Brazil’s first World Cup semi-final since 2002, a tournament they ultimately went on to win by beating Germany in the final. They have won their last three World Cup semi-finals, so Brazil expects, the pressure is close to boiling point – but does Scolari have the tools to deliver?<\/p>\n
One man who can relate to the weight of expectation felt by a host nation is Germany’s head coach Joachim Low. He was assistant to Jurgen Klinsmann in 2006 when as hosts Germany were eliminated in the final four.<\/p>\n
They suffered another semi-final exit in South Africa four years ago and now stand at the precipice once again. Will they finally make it back to a World Cup final, for an eighth time, or is an unwanted hat-trick of successive semi-final eliminations about to befall them?<\/p>\n
Low has spoken about the German players being disappointed they will not get chance to test themselves against the best, a nod to Neymar, but he also had a word of warning for the hosts.<\/p>\n
“I think for all Germans one things for sure – we desperately want to play in the Maracana in Rio again (for the final),” he said. “We’re not done yet.”<\/p>\n
Head-to-head <\/strong><\/p>\n Brazil <\/strong><\/p>\n Germany <\/strong><\/p>\n –<\/p>\n Source: BBC Sport<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Venue: Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte Date: Tuesday, 8 July Kick-off: 20:00 GMT Team News Brazil captain Thiago Silva is banned, so Dante will deputise, but they have Luis Gustavo back from suspension. With Neymar injured, Brazil could field a central midfield three, or else pick an attack-minded replacement such as Willian or Bernard. Germany coach […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":30429,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[115,122,29,3,771],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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