Brazil Vs Columbia Update: Brazil's shining star Neymar was hurt and taken off on a stretcher. According to Yahoo Sports, Juan Camilo Zuniga clattered Neymar's back in the 88th minute of Brazil's 2-1 win over Colombia. Neymar is reportedly in great pain and was crying while being taken off down the tunnel. Brazil's team doctor confirmed that he will miss the rest of the World Cup with a fractured vertebra.
"It's not serious in the sense that it doesn't need surgery, but he'll need to immobilize it to recover. Unfortunately, he's not going to be able to play," Rodrigo Lasmar told Brazil's SportTV as reported by Reuters.
Neymar who leads Brazil with four goals in five matches is expected to recover for at least a few weeks. The Brazil striker's absence for the semifinal against Germany will be a devastating loss for Brazil according to Brooks Peck of Dirty Tackle.
Though Brazil made it through to the semi-finals, Ryan Tyers of The Telegraph reported that the team's base performance was "nervy" and "dirty."
"Footballers, being human, do what they can to get ahead. If they aren't given a yellow for fouling, they're going to do it more, not less, as the stats show. If they could get away with fighting like one can in Ice Hockey there'd be tear-ups every five minutes. FIFA needs to stop telling refs to indulge players in this manner. It's a Barton/Catermole Charter," Rafael Nadal wrote.
Brazil's team consists of Julio César, Maicon, Marcelo, Paulinho, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Oscar, Fernandinho, Fred, Neymar, Hulk, with subs: Jefferson, Dani Alves, Dante, Maxwell, Henrique, Ramires, Hernanes, Willian, Bernard, Jo, Victor.
According to 3News, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari called the team's sports psychologist Regina Brandao in for an extra session with the players on Tuesday. Reportedly, the coach was concerned about his squad carrying the expectations of 200 million Brazilians.
