Paraguay defender Paulo da Silva insists there is more to Brazil than Neymar and that his team will have to be nigh on perfect if they have any chance of progressing to the Copa America quarter-finals.
La Selecao progressed to the last eight as Group C winners but their talismanic captain was given a four-match ban following his red card picked up in the 1-0 defeat to Colombia in their second game.
Paraguay are unbeaten in the tournament so far, having won one and drawn two to finish second to Argentina in Group B, and will now begin their knockout phase as they did four years ago, when they beat Brazil on penalties in the quarters en route to the final.
The match betting suggests there will be no repeat with Dunga’s men, minus Neymar, installed as 1.73 favourites, with Paraguay on offer at 5.25 and the draw at 3.30.
Da Silva, who played in the penalty shoot-out win in 2011, knows that losing Neymar is a big blow to Brazil but insists that they still remain an “extremely dangerous” team.
“Neymar is a hugely important player for Brazil,” Da Silva said. “He showed at Barcelona last season what a great player he is, winning the treble.
“But Brazil remain extremely dangerous even without Neymar. They have had phases where they haven’t played so well, but in short tournaments it’s results that count. They are very good at dead balls and very dangerous.
“They are here on merit and they will punish any mistakes. We will try to advance to a semi-final, which would be a dream for us and something very special. But we will need to play an almost perfect game to get to the last four.”
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