Brazil Coach Felipe Scolari has said he is calm and confident of his side’s chances of winning the World Cup even without Barcelona forward Neymar.
Neymar has been ruled out of the semi-final against Germany after suffering a fracture to the third lumbar vertebrae against Colombia. He’s also unlikely to play in the final, should the hosts get that far.
Marca though reports Scolari as saying at a Press conference that Neymar’s absence gives Brazil a chance to evaluate their other options, and he isn’t panicked by the 22-year-old’s unavailability.
“We’ve already begun work with the players and we’re aware that in a disaster comes an opportunity to do something different. That’s what we’ll do,” he insisted in an interview with Globo.
“Neymar was our benchmark, was one of our references, because he makes a difference in any team, even Barcelona.
“We’ve lost something we didn’t want to lose [but] I’m very confident and calm.
“We’ve lost one of the best players but we still have the potential to be champions.”
