FORTALEZA, Brazil — Without Neymar on the field, Brazil will play Germany for a spot in the World Cup final.
The host nation advanced to the semifinals for the first time in 12 years on Friday, beating Colombia 2-1 with the goals coming from defenders Thiago Silva and David Luiz.
But the celebration was quickly tempered when Brazil’s team doctor said Neymar will miss the rest of the World Cup after breaking a vertebrae.
Neymar was kneed in the back by Colombia defender Juan Camilo Zuniga in the second half and was in tears when he was carried off the field on a stretcher.
He was taken to a local clinic, and team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said after the match that the star striker had broken his third vertebrae.
Neymar has been the focal point of both the Brazilian team and the entire World Cup, and he lived up to expectations with four goals in the first three matches.
“Along with the rest of Brazil I’m hoping for the recovery of our greatest player,” Brazilian player Dilma Rousseff wrote on Twitter.
Brazil will definitely be without Silva for Tuesday’s match against Germany in Belo Horizonte. The captain must sit out after getting his second yellow card of the tournament for impeding Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina.
Silva gave Brazil the lead in the seventh minute, scoring with his left knee after a corner from Neymar passed through the Colombian defense. He celebrated the goal by pointing to the emblem on his jersey and shouting, “This is Brazil, this is Brazil.”
Luiz added the second from a free kick in the 69th, sending a swerving long-range shot off the inside of his foot and into the top of the net.
Colombia got one back in the 80th. James Rodriguez scored his tournament-leading sixth goal from the penalty spot after Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar brought down substitute Carlos Bacca inside the area.
Rodriguez tried to control the pace of the match, but it was Brazil that created most of the scoring chances as Ospina had to make a series of saves in the first half alone.
“This is a very tough moment for us,” Colombia coach Jose Pekerman said. “We always had the dream of winning this match even though we knew Brazil would be a very tough opponent. We knew how decisive this was, and that any mistake would cost us.”
There was a lot of talk about Rodriguez and Neymar before the match, but the 22-year-old forwards didn’t really deliver. Rodriguez scored the late penalty but was otherwise mostly ineffective, as was Neymar before he left on a stretcher.
Germany 1, France 0
RIO DE JANEIRO — Germany reached the semifinals for a fourth straight World Cup by beating France in a cagey match settled by a first-half header from Mats Hummels.
The center back headed Toni Kroos’ free kick in off the underside of the bar in the 13th minute in one of the few chances created in muggy conditions at Maracana stadium.
France struggled to impose its attacking game in the face of a robust, experienced Germany side that seemed more comfortable on the big stage.
Mathieu Valbuena and Karim Benzema had France’s best chances saved in the first half, with the German lineup holding off late pressure with apparent ease.
