Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has underlined the role their 22-year-old ace Neymar played in their team's World Cup run, and stressed the huge impact it will have on the team, but claims his side will cope without the Barcelona ace.
The host nation get ready to lock horns with European giants Germany, a country whom many favor to lift the trophy in the Maracana on July 13.
However, with the Selecao's number 11 star absent due to the broken vertebrae that he suffered in the quarter-final match against Colombia, Brazil will just have to do without their top scorer in the tournament.
"Neymar has sacrificed a lot for us and he takes some of us with him as well," claimed Scolari at the pre-match press conference for the game.”
"He has done his job. His injury was a blow for us, but we have left that behind. When we knew he wouldn't be with us, we moved on.”
“We will not have Neymar but we have another 22 players who have been hand-picked because they are special,” the Selecao boss added.
“I have a fantastic group of players. I’m sure that we are going to play for us, for Neymar, but also for the goal of reaching the final.”
When asked who will replace the former Santos ace, the 65-year-old manager responded with:
"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."
Germany coach Joachim Low also feels Neymar and Thiago Silva's absence will not make the Selecao less of a worthy opponent, arguing:
"They are not less dangerous now," he told the DFB's official website. "Neymar is a very strong player indeed but it is going to deliver some extra power to the other players.
"Other teams have experienced the same in the past. The other players must take much more responsibility now. They appeal to the whole country to support them because Neymar will not play."
"Thiago Silva can be replaced easily by Dante. Nobody should think that especially Dante will play worse against Germany than Thiago Silva would do.
"Those two players are replaceable for Brazil."
