Brazil mull Neymar conundrum as consistent Germany loom

Brazil must overcome the massive blow dealt by the injury to marquee forward Neymar if they are to beat frighteningly consistent Germany on Tuesday and book a World Cup final spot on home soil for a second time.

Brazil, chasing a sixth world title, are still reeling from Neymar's injury in their quarter-final win over Colombia, and the entire nation is holding its breath and hoping the team's chances have not been irreparably damaged.

Neymar, who scored four goals in the tournament, fractured a vertebra late in the game and will be out for the rest of the tournament but for Brazil there is no alternative but to get to the final in Rio de Janeiro on July 13.

Any other result would be a national catastrophe for the country of 200 million football-mad fans, similar to the 1950 final defeat by Uruguay, also in Brazil.

Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari will be forced to reshuffle his team in two positions with captain Thiago Silva suspended for the game against opponents who have made a record fourth consecutive World Cup semi-final.

"We'll miss Neymar," team mate Oscar said. "Whoever comes in in his place has to play as part of the team and beat Germany.

"The best thing we do is play as a team and I just hope that whoever comes in plays well," the attacking midfielder said.

To play as well as Neymar is probably expecting too much of Willian, likely to be his understudy at the Mineirao stadium in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday.

Neymar has netted 35 times in 54 games for Brazil, more than anyone else in the squad and Scolari has selected him for every one of the 27 matches he has coached since returning to manage Brazil for a second time in 2012.

But if anyone knows how to beat the Germans it is Scolari who led Brazil to their most recent world title in 2002 with a 2-0 victory over Germany in the final in what is, surprisingly, the teams' only previous World Cup meeting.

KILLER PUNCH

The European heavyweights' consistency since then is nothing short of spectacular, coming back as title contenders every four years and making the semi-finals in 2006, 2010 and 2014.

However, what they have failed to do is lift a fourth trophy, stumbling at the penultimate hurdle each time.

Without a World Cup win since 1990 and an international title since Euro 96, the Germans are convinced they finally have a team that can deliver the killer punch.

"I can only urge you to go and reward yourselves," German football association President Wolfgang Niersbach told the players through the announcement system on board the airplane back from their 1-0 quarter-final win over France on Friday.

"Reward yourselves by doing in this last week exactly what you have been doing so far. You have it in you and we all want to return again to the Maracana in Rio. Let's stick together because then we can land the big coup."

Less exciting and less youthful than 2010 but arguably more efficient and experienced, the Germans did not need to fire on all cylinders against France, scoring an early goal and holding on to their lead with relative ease.

The backline with Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels as central defenders worked like clockwork, eliminating most threats from France forward Karim Benzema, while their quick switch to attack also operated like a well-oiled German machine.

"We will now try to take that next step," coach Joachim Loew said. "The team is strong and stable. In the past five tournaments (World Cups and Euros) we reached the semis. Now it's time at this semi-final to move a step further."

FACTBOX

Brazil play Germany in a World Cup semi-final in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday.

Where: The Mineirao stadium, Belo Horizonte
Capacity: 58,170

When: Tuesday, July 8, 1700 local (2000 GMT/1600 ET)

Referee: To be announced

Probable teams:

Brazil: 12-Julio Cesar; 6-Marcelo; 23-Maicon; 13-Dante; 4-David Luiz; 17-Luiz Gustavo; 8-Paulinho; 19-Willian; 11-Oscar; 7-Hulk; 9-Fred.

|Germany: 1-Manuel Neuer; 16-Philipp Lahm; 20-Jerome Boateng; 5-Mats Hummels; 4-Benedikt Hoewedes; 7-Bastian Schweinsteiger; 6-Sami Khedira; 18-Toni Kroos; 8-Mesut Ozil; 19-Mario Goetze; 13-Thomas Mueller

Key stats:

* Remarkably, for two perennial powerhouses who have won eight World Cups between them, this is only the second time Brazil and Germany have met in this competition. In their previous game, Brazil won the 2002 final 2-0 thanks to two goals from Ronaldo.

* Germany and Brazil are the joint third highest tournament scorers, with 10 each. They follow Colombia and the Netherlands on 12 goals each.
Germany have scored eight goals from open play and two from set-pieces. Brazil have scored seven from open play and three from set-pieces.

* Brazil are aiming for a sixth title after earning that record fifth in 2002, while Germany are hopeful of a fourth following a 24-year gap since their last World Cup trophy.

* Germany's Thomas Mueller and Brazil's Neymar are joint second in the tournament top scorers' chart, on four goals each along with Argentina's Lionel Messi. Neymar, though, is injured and will play no more in this tournament.

* Germany's Philipp Lahm is the best passer of the tournament, with 408 passes completed with a success rate of 86.6 percent.

* Brazil won the World Cup in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002

* Germany won the World Cup in 1954, 1974 and 1990

|Previous meetings:

The teams have played each other 21 times, with Brazil winning 12, Germany four, and five draws.

In all those games, Brazil have scored 39 goals, Germany 24.

World Cup meetings:

Their one previous meeting was in Yokohama, Japan, in the World Cup final on June 30, 2002. Brazil won 2-0.

Confederations Cup meetings:

Brazil have beaten Germany twice in the Confederations Cup, 3-2 in Nuremberg, Germany in 2005 and 4-0 in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1999.

Friendlies:

Brazil have won nine friendlies, lost four, and drawn five with Germany. Their last meeting was a friendly in Stuttgart, Germany, on Aug. 10, 2011. Germany won that game 3-2.

Results so far at the 2014 World Cup:

Brazil: The hosts topped Group A with a 3-1 win over Croatia, a 0-0 draw with Mexico, and a 4-1 defeat of Cameroon.

They defeated Chile 3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the last-16 and beat Colombia 2-1 in their quarter-final.

Germany: The Europeans won Group G with a 4-0 thrashing of Portugal, a 2-2 draw with Ghana and a 1-0 defeat of the United States.

They beat Algeria 2-1 in the last 16 and France 1-0 in their quarter-final.

Head-to-head statistics at this tournament:

Games played: Brazil 5, Germany 5

Goals scored: Brazil 10, Germany 10

Goals per game: Brazil 2, Germany 2

Shots on target: Brazil 70 percent, Germany 70 percent

Average attempts per match: Brazil 16.4, Germany 14.8

Fouls committed: Brazil 96, Germany 57

Yellow cards: Brazil 10, Germany 4

Red cards: Brazil 0, Germany 0

Distance ran per match: Brazil 106.8 km, Germany 115.3 km

Passes completed: Brazil 1,816, Germany 2,938

Pass completion rate: Brazil 70 percent, Germany 80 percent

Penalty shootout record:

Brazil have won three out of four World Cup penalty shootouts over the years. They lost to France in a 1986 quarter-final, but beat Italy in the 1994 final, beat Holland in the 1998 semi-final, and beat Chile in this tournament's last 16.

Germany have an impeccable World Cup penalty shootout record, winning four out of four. They beat France in a 1982 semi-final, Mexico in a 1986 quarter-final, England in a 1990 semi-final and Argentina in a 2006 quarter-final.
 

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