Host Brazil will look to book a spot in the 2014 World Cup Final when they collide with Germany in the semifinals on Tuesday at the Estadio Mineirao in Belo Horizonte.
Brazil have been making the home-town fans ecstatic with their performances, but Tuesday's match will be harder than their previous games.
The Selecao needs to take down Germany, who have been showing championship form in the tournament, and they will have to do it without star striker Neymar.
The Brazilian talisman, who has scored four goals in the tournament, was ruled out for the rest of the tournament after sustaining a broken vertebra in their 2-1 win against Colombia in the quarterfinals.
Without Neymar, Brazil is expected to have a difficult time creating scoring opportunities, and coach Luiz Felipe Scolari challenged his healthy players to do their part for their country and for their fallen teammate.
"Now we have to do our part," Scolari said via SFGate. "We will be playing not only for ourselves, for our country, for our dreams, but each one of us will be playing a little for Neymar because of everything that he has done for us."
Scolari has yet to reveal who will take Neymar's place in their starting XI, but multiple reports indicated that he is considering picking either Willian or Bernard.
Brazil will also be without defender Thiago Silva, who was suspended for the match after picking his second yellow card of the tournament during their win against Colombia.
Brazil lodge an appeal on Silva's suspension, but FIFA upheld the decision. Scolari is expected to name Dante as Silva's replacement on Tuesday's match.
David Luiz, who will captain his team in the final four, urged his teammates to give it all, saying that they should treat the match against Germany as the game of their lives.
"Whether or not I am captain, this semifinal is unique for me. We all have to be leaders and to be strong," Luiz said via ESPN FC. "My biggest wish is that we remember this day as the day we were successful for our country and reached the final. This is the game of our lives. It's so rare that a footballer plays in a semifinal in a World Cup in their own country."
The Brazil-Germany match will start at 4 p.m. EST and will be shown live on ESPN and via live stream through WatchESPN.
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