Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian legend Pele hopes that five-time champions Brazil will win the FIFA World Cup without star striker Neymar, who has been ruled out of the tournament with a fractured vertebrae during the quarterfinal against Colombia.
Pele on social networking site Twitter compared Neymar's injury to his own during the 1962 World Cup in Chile. Pele was injured in the second group match against Czechoslovakia and was ruled out of the tournament but still Brazil won and defended the title, reports EFE.
"I was also injured during the 1962 World Cup in Chile, and I was out for the rest of the tournament," Pele tweeted.
"God helped Brazil continue on to win the championship. I hope the same will happen with our Selecao in this World Cup," he explained.
In remarks to Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper, the Brazilian legend believed that Neymar's absence may be in favour of the Samba team that will be forced to search for "a different dynamic tactics".
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