Brazil Seeks to Compensate for Neymar – While Germans Want to Seize Advantage
By Charles Jay
Has the loss of Neymar provided the German squad with the opening it needs to ride on through to the championship game? That is what World Cup bettors at VietBet have to be contemplating as the semi-finals are upon us. The game that takes place in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday afternoon (4 PM ET, ESPN) is one that Brazil would have much preferred to approach with the services of their top star in tow, but now, since that is not a possibility, they have to move forward as best they can.
Which leaves the question – is that way good enough?
There is obviously something of a personnel shakeup in order. Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari will not have his big-time striker, who cracked a vertebrae in his back against Colombia, leaving a nation literally weeping. Since Neymar had scored four goals, his absence creates a void,. In the games in which he did not score, Brazil was held to a scoreless tie by Mexico, had to go to penalties to defeat Chile, and got by 2-1 against the Colombians. Someone will have to pick up the slack, but who?
In the 2014 World Cup Semifinal odds that have been posted by the folks at VietBet, this is close to being an even proposition:
The World Cup
Germany vs. Brazil (Semi-Finals)
Tuesday, July 8 — 4 PM ET
Estádio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte
Germany advances -115
Brazil advances -105
(The following numbers involve 90 minutes and stoppage time only)
Betting Odds – Moneyline:
Brazil +181
Germany +184
Draw +222
Total:
Over 2 Goals -114
Under 2 Goals -101
It has been noted by some analysts of the World Cup odds that Oscar has been invaluable in a defensive capacity for Brazil, which explains why he may not have contributed as much offensively as some had expected. In fact, he has only taken six shots thus far. Will he be asked to enhance his role? That is one option Scolari would seem to have at his disposal.
Also, he can turn to Willian, the Chelsea forward who has thus far come off the bench several times. Whichever way you slice it, this is going to be a handful to overcome.
Captain Thiago Silva will not be in the lineup, having been suspended for this match (he lost his appeal), but midfielder Luis Gustavo has returned from his suspension. Dante will step in for Silva. David Luiz takes over as captain and says he can handle that kind of pressure. VietBet patrons who are favoring the Brazilians should certainly hope so.
Germany, of course, has been without midfielder Marco Reus for this entire finals tournament, but that is something they have gotten used to; they haven’t had to make adjustments on the fly the way Brazil has to now.
Meanwhile, ,German coach Joachim Low has been working on the officials. And he is using the rough tackle by Colombia’s Juan Zuniga against Neymar as an example of physical play that, as he puts it, would never be allowed in Europe. Colombia forward James Rodriguez, who is still the favorite at VietBet to be the leading scorer in the tournament and thus win the Golden Boot (-175 in the World Cup odds) took a lot of abuse as well.
Low certainly would love for his attacking side to be able to free-wheel their way in the Brazilian end, especially if they can put some added pressure on a defense that will be without Silva. But Brazil is one team that has been able to count on some depth on the back line, so they might be able to mitigate any effect from that.
One of the great things about opening up an account at VietBet is the fact that you can wager on the World Cup games while they are going on. You should check it out – go to the sportsbook and click on “LIve Betting Extra.” You’ve never experienced anything like it!
