Neymar hails Casemiro as ‘best midfielder in the world’ as goal seals Brazil win over Switzerland
“Other players are getting there to get to the level he is at, and I hope they get there. Yes, we do miss Neymar, we do miss him. He has a big creative power, he’s very effective so we miss him, yes.
“But there are other players who can take their opportunity.”
Casemiro, who joined United from Real Madrid this summer, played down his decisive intervention and insisted Brazil were better placed to mount a serious challenge for glory than they were four years ago, when they were beaten by Belgium in the last eight.
He said: “Four years have gone by, there are new players. This year we have a wider range of options, we have more players to choose from.
“Without even changing the team, we have a possibility of changing the way we play. If we substitute players, we have even more options.
“Therefore, there is no doubt whatsoever that the options are much greater than those in 2018.”
Switzerland boss Murat Yakin admitted his side had lacked the “courage” they needed to take the game to the South Americans, but swiftly turned his attention to Friday’s showdown with Serbia.
The sides met in Russia four years ago, when Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri, who are both of Albanian-Kosovan heritage, found themselves the subject of disciplinary action after making nationalist gestures during their side’s 2-1 win.
Recommended
Yakin said: “We have to focus on football, just on football. For both teams, this is a decisive game and it will be an interesting and exciting game.
“We want to focus on football. Everything else, I really don’t care about.”
Register for free to continue reading
Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism
By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists
{{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}
By clicking ‘Create my account’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.
Already have an account? sign in
By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.
Register for free to continue reading
Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism
By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists
{{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}
By clicking ‘Create my account’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.
Already have an account? sign in
By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.
Source: Read Full Article