Pele hopes Brazil will win World Cup without star forward Neymar

Soccer legend Pele hopes five-time champions Brazil will win the 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. God helped Brazil continue on to win the championship. I hope the same will happen with our Selecao in this World Cup,’ Pele tweeted. In remarks to Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper, Pele said he believed Neymar’s absence may be in favour of the Samba team that will be forced to search for ‘a different dynamic tactics.