The former champions, Brazil and Germany, will give their all to win berth in the finale. However, the chase for that spot might prove difficult, especially for one of the sides who lost a brilliant team member to vertebral injury.
Neymar is out and Luiz Felipe Scolari should find the best ways to restructure his tactics which originally took into consideration the presence of his star player. While the loss might be a major blow to Selecao, it will not decide the entirety of Brazil’s performance in the semi-finals. The side still have other great players to capitalize on, and in Julio Cesar, they have a reliable goalkeeper to put their opposition’s attack to a minimum. In addition to Neymar, Thiago Silva will not be able to join the ensemble following a suspension. Brazil have so far impressed in many occasions but they have also produced controversies which created doubts about their true potential as champions.
Coach Joachim Löw may use the same defense that helped Germany win against France on a clean sheet the last timeout. The side handle defensive maneuvers extremely well; in fact, they have been able to keep a clean sheet seven times in their last nine World Cup matches. Attack-wise, they can also serve a huge threat to any opposition. Miroslav Klose is on his way to becoming the all-time top-scorer in FIFA World Cup history while Thomas Müller remains one of the best prospects to win the Golden Boot award. Mario Götze, Mesut Özil, Mats Hummels, and Jerome Boateng are also capable of producing stunners.
World Cup betting tip: Germany are on course to meet Argentina or the Netherlands in the final.