On July 4, Brazil beat Colombia 2-1 in the quarter-final match of the FIFA World Cup. However, the victory for the hosts of the championship came at a high price. The top two main squad players will miss the semi-final against Germany.
On July 9, Brazilian time, the Pentacampions will play in the first semifinal match at the football world championship with the German team. True, it is already known about two losses in the main squad of the Brazilians. So, the captain of the hosts of the World Cup Silva and the star forward of the Brazilians Neymar will miss the semifinals.
The main stronghold of the Brazilian team's defense, the most experienced Thiago Silva, was disqualified for the semifinal match due to overkill of yellow cards. In a game against Colombia in the second half, Silva prevented the Colombian goalkeeper from putting the ball into play. For this, the referee of the meeting showed a yellow card to the Brazilian. Unfortunately for the fans of Brazil, the card was already the second card in the tournament for the defender. According to the tournament regulations, in case of receiving two yellow cards in matches, the offending player misses the next meeting. Only from the semi-final stage do yellow cards disappear. There is no exact word yet on who will replace Thiago Silva in Brazil's central defense. Presumably, it will be Dante or Enrique.
The second significant loss before the match with Germany for the Brazilians was the injury of Neymar. Already at the end of the meeting with Colombia, at the 87th minute, Neymar received a knee blow in the lower back from the Colombian midfielder Sunigi. Neymar was carried off the field on a stretcher and then taken to the hospital. Doctors diagnosed a fracture of the third vertebra. This injury deprives Neymar of the opportunity to continue the World Cup. In addition, doctors say that the Brazilian striker cannot even walk for a while. According to the latest information, Neymar will not need surgery, but the exact timing of the forward's recovery is still unknown. According to preliminary data, Neymar will miss three weeks. The striker was the team's top scorer. At the 2014 Fubal World Cup, Neymar scored four goals. Most likely, Bernard will replace the forward.
