Football: No Neymar, no party for Brazil
Luiz Felipe Scolari's men will have to face the Germans without their chief goalscorer.
FORTALEZA:
The hangover from a World Cup quarter-final win over Colombia was a little more potent than Brazil expected as it awoke on Saturday still dealing with the news star striker Neymar will play no further part in the tournament.
The 22-year-old suffered a broken vertebrae in the 2-1 win over Los Cafeteros in Fortaleza on Friday, meaning there will be no Hollywood ending for Brazil's poster boy come the Maracana final next Sunday.
Whether Brazil even make it to their ball is a greater worry for most of a 200 million strong nation that expected to crown their party with a sixth World Cup victory.
Next up lies the daunting task of a Germany side in the semi-finals on Tuesday that showed its class with a comfortable 1-0 win over France in Friday's other quarter-final.
Moreover, Luiz Felipe Scolari's men will have to face the Germans not only without their chief goalscorer, but also their captain as Thiago Silva received his second yellow card of the tournament against Colombia ruling him out through suspension.
Ultimately, Brazil have been served a severe dose of their own medicine. In a match which contained the most fouls of any so far in the tournament with 54, the hosts were the principal aggressors committing 31.
James Rodriguez was the main target for Scolari's scything tactics. Three times Manchester City's Fernandinho left his mark on the Monaco man in the first-half with the only punishment a free-kick awarded by Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo.
"Unfortunately, the referee didn't help a lot," bemoaned James, whose sixth goal in five games from the penalty spot proved no more than a consolation to Silva and David Luiz's earlier strikes.
However, the moment for which the match will be remembered came two minutes from time when Juan Zuniga clattered Neymar in the back in his overexuberant rush to win the ball back deep inside the Brazil half.
As Oscar led a Brazilian counter-attack, Neymar remained prone on the ground and could only be removed via a stretcher.
In the bowels of the Estadio Castelao immediately post-match, Scolari complained that Neymar had been "hunted" for three games in a row.
Scolari's initial fears were confirmed soon after by Brazilian team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar that far from leading his country to glory, Neymar now has the ignominy of becoming just one more suffering fan.
"Play for him" urged Brazilian sports newspaper Lancenet on Saturday alongside a picture of a stricken Neymar on a stretcher.
However, the question for Scolari now is who does play for him going forward.
A Selecao had been over-reliant on Neymar thanks to the poor form of Fred, who has failed to recover the threat that saw him finish top scorer at last year's Confederations Cup.
Chelsea's Willian or Shakhtar Donetsk's Bernard offer pace and guile, but neither come close to imposing the fear in opposition defences that Neymar's 35 goals in 54 international appearances does.
The other option for Scolari is to beef up his midfield even more by welcoming back Luis Gustavo alongside Fernandinho and Paulinho to bully the Germans and leave them as battered and bruised as the tearful James as he trundled off at full-time in Fortaleza.
Neymar was this Brazilian side's last semblance of Jogo Bonito, the panache that complemented the physicality.
Without him, any success that follows is unlikely to be pretty.
Five potential replacements for Neymar
Willian
The Chelsea winger is one of relatively few new faces in the squad from the side that won the Confederations Cup last year after an impressive first season in England.
His versatility to play on either wing or through the middle offers coach Luiz Felipe Scolari flexibility, but his ability to cope with the pressure that Neymar was under is questionable given he failed to even hit the target with his penalty in the agonising shootout win over Chile in the last 16.
Bernard
The tiny Shakhtar Donetsk man -- he replaced Willian after he left for Chelsea -- stands at just over 5ft 4inches tall and is just 21, but does have the pace and ability to go past defenders that Brazil will need in the absence of Neymar.
However, his participation in the tournament so far has been restricted to just two substitute appearances and he may be more adequately used as an impact player from the bench as legs tire later in the game.
Luis Gustavo
Neymar's loss could mean a complete tactical reshuffle for Scolari with Wolfsburg's Gustavo almost certain to return to the side following his suspension against Colombia.
Scolari was quick to praise the work done by Fernandinho and Paulinho in Fortaleza and could line up all three in central midfield in an attempt to spoil Germany's rhythm in midfield.
Ramires
Another option with the intention of destroying rather than creating would be to use the energy of Chelsea's Ramires on the wing to keep German captain Philipp Lahm's forays forward in check.
It is a role the 27-year-old has carried out to decent effect in the latter stages of the Champions League in recent years, most notably when sparking a remarkable Chelsea comeback with a goal against Barcelona on their way to winning the trophy in 2012.
An extra centre-back
Brazil will not only be without Neymar, but also captain Thiago Silva through suspension against Germany.
Scolari had already flirted with the idea of switching to a 3-5-2 and doing so now may help stabilise the defence in Silva's absence, whilst also giving left-back Marcelo even more licence to exploit his attacking instincts down the left side.
Both Scolari and match-winner against Colombia David Luiz were quick to talk up the capabilities of Dante and Henrique after the game with both in contention to make their first start of the competition.
The hangover from a World Cup quarter-final win over Colombia was a little more potent than Brazil expected as it awoke on Saturday still dealing with the news star striker Neymar will play no further part in the tournament.
The 22-year-old suffered a broken vertebrae in the 2-1 win over Los Cafeteros in Fortaleza on Friday, meaning there will be no Hollywood ending for Brazil's poster boy come the Maracana final next Sunday.
Whether Brazil even make it to their ball is a greater worry for most of a 200 million strong nation that expected to crown their party with a sixth World Cup victory.
Next up lies the daunting task of a Germany side in the semi-finals on Tuesday that showed its class with a comfortable 1-0 win over France in Friday's other quarter-final.
Moreover, Luiz Felipe Scolari's men will have to face the Germans not only without their chief goalscorer, but also their captain as Thiago Silva received his second yellow card of the tournament against Colombia ruling him out through suspension.
Ultimately, Brazil have been served a severe dose of their own medicine. In a match which contained the most fouls of any so far in the tournament with 54, the hosts were the principal aggressors committing 31.
James Rodriguez was the main target for Scolari's scything tactics. Three times Manchester City's Fernandinho left his mark on the Monaco man in the first-half with the only punishment a free-kick awarded by Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo.
"Unfortunately, the referee didn't help a lot," bemoaned James, whose sixth goal in five games from the penalty spot proved no more than a consolation to Silva and David Luiz's earlier strikes.
However, the moment for which the match will be remembered came two minutes from time when Juan Zuniga clattered Neymar in the back in his overexuberant rush to win the ball back deep inside the Brazil half.
As Oscar led a Brazilian counter-attack, Neymar remained prone on the ground and could only be removed via a stretcher.
In the bowels of the Estadio Castelao immediately post-match, Scolari complained that Neymar had been "hunted" for three games in a row.
Scolari's initial fears were confirmed soon after by Brazilian team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar that far from leading his country to glory, Neymar now has the ignominy of becoming just one more suffering fan.
"Play for him" urged Brazilian sports newspaper Lancenet on Saturday alongside a picture of a stricken Neymar on a stretcher.
However, the question for Scolari now is who does play for him going forward.
A Selecao had been over-reliant on Neymar thanks to the poor form of Fred, who has failed to recover the threat that saw him finish top scorer at last year's Confederations Cup.
Chelsea's Willian or Shakhtar Donetsk's Bernard offer pace and guile, but neither come close to imposing the fear in opposition defences that Neymar's 35 goals in 54 international appearances does.
The other option for Scolari is to beef up his midfield even more by welcoming back Luis Gustavo alongside Fernandinho and Paulinho to bully the Germans and leave them as battered and bruised as the tearful James as he trundled off at full-time in Fortaleza.
Neymar was this Brazilian side's last semblance of Jogo Bonito, the panache that complemented the physicality.
Without him, any success that follows is unlikely to be pretty.
Five potential replacements for Neymar
Willian
The Chelsea winger is one of relatively few new faces in the squad from the side that won the Confederations Cup last year after an impressive first season in England.
His versatility to play on either wing or through the middle offers coach Luiz Felipe Scolari flexibility, but his ability to cope with the pressure that Neymar was under is questionable given he failed to even hit the target with his penalty in the agonising shootout win over Chile in the last 16.
Bernard
The tiny Shakhtar Donetsk man -- he replaced Willian after he left for Chelsea -- stands at just over 5ft 4inches tall and is just 21, but does have the pace and ability to go past defenders that Brazil will need in the absence of Neymar.
However, his participation in the tournament so far has been restricted to just two substitute appearances and he may be more adequately used as an impact player from the bench as legs tire later in the game.
Luis Gustavo
Neymar's loss could mean a complete tactical reshuffle for Scolari with Wolfsburg's Gustavo almost certain to return to the side following his suspension against Colombia.
Scolari was quick to praise the work done by Fernandinho and Paulinho in Fortaleza and could line up all three in central midfield in an attempt to spoil Germany's rhythm in midfield.
Ramires
Another option with the intention of destroying rather than creating would be to use the energy of Chelsea's Ramires on the wing to keep German captain Philipp Lahm's forays forward in check.
It is a role the 27-year-old has carried out to decent effect in the latter stages of the Champions League in recent years, most notably when sparking a remarkable Chelsea comeback with a goal against Barcelona on their way to winning the trophy in 2012.
An extra centre-back
Brazil will not only be without Neymar, but also captain Thiago Silva through suspension against Germany.
Scolari had already flirted with the idea of switching to a 3-5-2 and doing so now may help stabilise the defence in Silva's absence, whilst also giving left-back Marcelo even more licence to exploit his attacking instincts down the left side.
Both Scolari and match-winner against Colombia David Luiz were quick to talk up the capabilities of Dante and Henrique after the game with both in contention to make their first start of the competition.