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 BBC reports.
The 22-year-old has scored four of Brazil’s eight 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.
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.
