Brazil defeated Colombia 2-1 in a pulsating World Cup Quarter Final on the 4th of July, but in doing so their talisman Neymar was taken off the pitch on a stretcher and will now miss the rest of the tournament due to a broken vertebra.
This really couldn’t have come at a worse time for Brazil, especially as their performance against Colombia had been an overall decent one and they will now have to face the calm and clinical Germans in the Semi Finals.
Juan Zuniga drove a Yoshihiro Takayama like knee into young Neymar’s spine in the second half of the contest and the Brazilian starlet was soon rushed off the pitch and to a medical facility. I must confess that at first I thought Neymar might be making a meal of the foul, due in part to his prior histrionics in other matches. However, on this occasion the cries of agony from the young Superstar were all very much on the level.
So what of Brazil’s chances now? I honestly cannot say. Not only will they be missing Neymar but their captain Thiago Silva will also miss the contest due to a suspension for a second yellow card. Missing their x-factor and also their captain may just prove to be too much of an obstacle for them to overcome, especially in light of who their opponents are.
Germany dispatched France with the cool precision of a highly trained sniper. Their solitary winning goal, scored by Matt Hummels, was the result of a sinisterly effective free kick from just outside the box. In general, The Germans never really looked like losing.
France had their chances to equalise but you always felt that even if they did, it would only prolong the battle to lottery of penalties. France just didn’t seem to have the necessary bite to win the contest outright within 90 or 120 minutes. Benzema, after good performances earlier in the tournament, found it much harder going against a superior side than the ones already engaged.
Manuel Neuer once again made some good saves but he wasn’t called upon as much as he was against Algeria. France benefitted in this tournament from a relatively weak Group E and were troubled quite often in their previous match with Nigeria. There are a lot of positives to take from this World Cup for the French though. Finishing second to Spain in qualifying attached no shame to them and to valiantly come back from a 2-0 deficit in a playoff against Ukraine accredited them greatly.
France will host Euro 2016 at home and will also play a full qualifying campaign, thus ensuring they are battle tested when it comes to starting the tournament proper. I think they will do well in that tournament after seeing them in this World Cup. Whether they will win it or not I cannot say, but there are a positives to take from this campaign.
Unless Arsene Wenger should suddenly become available, I feel that Didier Deschamps will still be manager when the tournament in 2016 begins. I can’t see any reason to sack him based on this tournament. France can go home perhaps a little disappointed with their performance on the day but they can take more positives than negatives from this tournament in my own personal opinion.
As for Colombia, they have been an entertaining side and it was a shame that they had to bow out. However, maybe it’s better for the good of the tournament that the hosts advanced? Colombia are probably a more entertaining side to watch, but the end to the circus that has been Brazil’s campaign would have been a bit of shame really.
I don’t really expect Germany Vs Brazil to be a classic contest, but I do expect it to be a tense and intriguing one. The German’s must surely now be thinking that they can get to the Final, but will they have the steel they showed yesterday when they face the host nation?
This World Cup, it just won’t let up will it? What a tournament!
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