World Cup

Lothar Matthaus: 'No player can replace Neymar'

By Simon Sinclair, Reporter | 06 July 2014

Germany legend Lothar Matthaus believes that no player will be capable of filling the shoes of Neymar in Brazil's semi-final clash with Joachim Low's side.

Lothar Matthaus has claimed that no player in the Brazil squad can replace Neymar and has admitted that no-one in Germany was pleased to see him ruled out of the World Cup.

The 22-year-old sustained a fractured vertebra in Luiz Felipe Scolari's side's quarter-final win over Colombia and as a result will miss the rest of the tournament.

Matthaus believes that the Selecao will have a tough time making up for his absence in their semi-final clash with Germany.

He told FIFA.com: "No German fan or player is happy about Neymar being injured, the spirit of fair play does not allow for that and we are here to play against the best players in the world and so it is bad that such a good player has been hurt.

"We will face the fact that Brazil still has other excellent players and although you cannot replace Neymar just like that, it will be the team's job to make up for him not being there.

"Thiago Silva is easier to replace and Dante will probably come in and he's used to this kind of pressure playing for Bayern Munich."

Germany and Brazil face off in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday.