Luiz set to lead Brazil as banned Silva loses his appeal

As well as Neymar, the hosts will be without another key player tonight – captain Thiago Silva, who was handed his second booking of the tournament for a block on Colombia’s David Ospina last Friday.

Brazil yesterday lost their appeal against the caution, so Luiz will be the man who leads the 
Selecao in the Estadio Mineirao.

Luiz is renowned for his madcap moments on the pitch, but he takes the responsibility of captaining his nation very seriously.

The hopes of around 200 million Brazilians rest on his shoulders, but he has no qualms about leading the side in Belo Horizonte.

“I’m ready,” Luiz said. “I’m vice-captain and this group is very easy to handle because everyone’s very down to earth.

“It won’t be a tough job at all.”

Luiz has the full support of his team-mate Hulk.

“He’s just the best,” the Zenit St Petersburg forward said. “He’s very caring and very attentive, no matter who he’s with. It’s not every day that you come across someone like him.

“The whole world knows what he has to offer on the pitch – and to my mind, he and Thiago (Silva) are the best central-defensive partnership in the world – but as his team-mates, we also know what a great person he is too.”

Bayern Munich’s Dante looks set to replace Silva at the heart of Brazil’s defence.

Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has a far harder decision to make on who should fill the huge gap left by Neymar’s absence.

Luis Gustavo will return after suspension, so Fernandinho or Paulinho could be pushed forward in a more advanced position.

Hernanes is another option open to the Brazil coach, but the more likely option would be to introduce either Willian or Bernard.

Given that he hails from Belo Horizonte, Bernard’s presence in the starting XI would boost the volume inside the Mineirao, but the 21-year-old thinks that will have little impact on Scolari’s thinking on team selection.

“I don’t think that will make a difference,” Bernard said.

“He has to choose the best option. If I am not the choice we all have to agree with what he is doing.

“It is going to be a special moment – a semi-final – and the players must be aware of their responsibility of wearing the Brazil jersey and representing the Selecao.”

Neymar is Brazil’s top scorer at the World Cup, finding the net four times.

He will be a big miss for Scolari, but Bernard sees no reason for Brazil to panic.

“We are all sad to have lost a great player but we will try to do our best without him,” said the midfielder.

“We have to be calm. All of the players who are in the squad are here because they have good skills and are capable of doing a good job.”

Brazil topped their group, but their performances were inconsistent in the group stages and they only beat Chile in the second round on penalties.

The hosts upped their game against Colombia, but Germany are a step up in opposition.

Joachim Low’s men have been the most consistent of the four semi-finalists. Their only wobble came against Algeria, who took them to extra-time.

Unlike Brazil, Low has no maj0r selection problems with only Shkodran Mustafi unavailable, yet he still does not seem to have found his first-choice starting XI.

Philipp Lahm moved back to right-back in the quarter-final against France with Miroslav Klose making his first start up front, where Thomas Muller had previously been first choice.

Mesut Ozil has struggled to deliver while Lukas Podolski no longer seems to figure into Low’s plans.

“Sometimes I just have to follow my intuition,” Low said.