Germany became the first nation to reach four consecutive World Cup semi-finals as Mats Hummels early header proved enough to see them past France at the Maracana. The three-time champions needed extra time to beat Algeria in the last 16 and suffered a bout of illness in midweek, but they were comfortable victors over a disappointing France in Rio de Janeiro. Hummels got the better of Raphael Varane to score what proved to be the winning goal and Germany can now prepare for a meeting with Brazil or Colombia in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday. Now all eyes are on Brazil v Colombia Brazil 12 Julio César 23 Maicon 06 Marcelo 08 Paulinho 03 Thiago Silva 04 David Luiz 11 Oscar 05 Fernandinho 09 Fred 10 Neymar 07 Hulk Substitutes 01 Jefferson 02 Dani Alves 13 Dante 14 Maxwell 15 Henrique 16 Ramires 18 Hernanes 19 Willian 20 Bernard 21 Jô 22 Victor Colombia 01 Ospina 18 Zuñiga 07 Armero 06 Sánchez 02 Zapata 03 Yepes 11 Cuadrado 13 Guarín 09 Gutiérrez 10 Rodríguez 14 Ibarbo Substitutes 04 Arias 05 Carbonero 08 Aguilar 12 Vargas 15 Mejía 16 Balanta 17 Bacca 19 Ramos 20 Quintero 21 Martínez 22 Mondragón 23 Valdés Ref: Carlos Velasco Carballo . Brazil star Neymar will be fit despite suffering blows to his thigh and knee against Chile. Paulinho may replace banned midfielder Luis Gustavo, although coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is also considering switching to a 3-5-2 formation. Colombia coach Jose Pekerman has reported no injury concerns. Pekerman boldly fielded two strikers in the last 16 against Uruguay and must decide whether to drop Jackson Martinez in order to field an extra midfielder. Brazil 23-man squad for World Cup: Goalkeepers: Cesar, Jefferson, Victor. Defenders: Marcelo, Alves, Maicon, Maxwell, Silva, Luiz, Dante, Henrique. Midfielders: Paulinho, Ramires, Willian, Oscar, Hernanes, Gustavo, Fernandinho. Forwards: Bernard, Neymar, Fred, Jo, Hulk. Colombia 23-man squad for World Cup: Goalkeepers: Ospina, Mondragon, Vargas. Defenders:Yepes, Zapata, Armero, Zuniga, Arias, Balanta, Valdes. Midfielders: Guarin, Cuadrado, Rodriguez, Aguilar, Quintero, Sanchez, Carbonero, Mejia. Forwards:Ibarbo, Martinez, Bacca, Ramos, Gutierrez. MATCH PREVIEW Colombia star James Rodriguez has stressed there is no pressure on Los Cafeteros as they prepare for the first World Cup quarter-final in their history. But for opponents Brazil, the host nation and tournament favourites, the weight of expectation is proving a heavy burden. Several players burst into tears after their last-16 victory against Chile, including goalkeeper Julio Cesar, who sobbed openly during post-match interviews, and the teams emotional state has proved a hot topic in the build-up to this game. Carlos Alberto, Brazils World Cup captain in 1970, believes the Selecao should save their tears until after they have lifted the trophy at the Maracana on 13 July. The team is crying when theyre singing the anthem, when they get hurt, when they shoot penalties! Come on... Stop crying! Enough! he said. Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari asked sport psychologist Regina Brandao to speak to the squad on Tuesday to help them deal with the pressure. Top scorer Neymar says the sessions have been beneficial but maintains that nobody has an emotional problem - everything is OK. The hosts will need to be fully focussed against a Colombia side who have reached the last eight with a style and swagger largely missing from Brazils play. Colombia coach Jose Pekerman admits the Brazilians have yet to hit top form. Sometimes a team with a lot of potential, if they dont find the result and they need to win, they cant play so brilliantly, he said. So the competition becomes interesting because a team with less individual stars can disturb the balance of the other team. The quarter-finals may be unchartered territory for Colombias players, but not for Pekerman, who led his native Argentina to the last eight of 2006 World Cup in Germany. On that occasion they also faced the hosts, but bowed out after losing on penalties. Pekerman was later criticised for his uncharacteristically cautious decision to substitute playmaker Juan Riquelme whilst Argentina led 1-0. MATCH FACTS Head-to-head •Colombia have won just two of their 25 previous games against Brazil and have never defeated them on Brazilian soil. •Their last victory against the Selecao was a 2-0 win in the group stage of the Copa America in 1991 (staged in Chile). •It is 11 years since Brazil last beat Colombia. The four most recent meetings all ended in draws. Three of those games finished 0-0. •The most recent encounter was a 1-1 draw in New York in November 2012. Juan Cuadrado put Colombia ahead before Neymar equalised, but the Brazilian star also hit a penalty over the bar. Brazil •They have reached the quarter-finals for the sixth consecutive time. They have lost at this stage in the last two tournaments, with defeat by the Dutch in 2010 their last competitive loss. •Their only defeat in the last 25 games came against Switzerland last August (W18, D6, L1). •Brazil are unbeaten in 41 successive home matches, with their last defeat coming against Paraguay in August 2002. •Their last competitive defeat at home was 3-1 to Peru in the 1975 Copa America semi-final. Colombia •Los Cafeteros are unbeaten in their last 11 games (W7, D4) since losing 2-0 in Uruguay last September. •If they avoid defeat in Fortaleza it will be their longest unbeaten run since a 27-game streak between 1992 and 1994. •They have won more World Cup matches in Brazil (four) than in their previous 13 tournament games combined. •James Rodriguez has scored in each of his last six appearances for Colombia. •He has scored five World Cup goals and assisted two more in 310 minutes on the pitch - which equates to scoring or assisting a goal every 44 minutes. •Ten of Colombias last 13 World Cup goals have been scored in the second half of matches. •Coach Jose Pekerman is unbeaten in nine World Cup matches (W7, D2). However, one of Pekermans two draws was followed by a penalty shootout defeat by Germany in 2006 in his final match in charge of Argentina.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Jul 2014 19:39:27 +0000
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