Neymar, who sat out the first two days of practice since the club arrived in Yokohama, and is unlikely to play on Thursday. He sustained a groin injury in training last week ahead of Barcelona’s 1-1 Champions League draw against Bayer Leverkusen.
“I am not a fan of taking risks,” Blaugrana coach Luis Enrique said when asked whether Neymar would play in the final. “We will decide [whether he plays of not] when the moment arrives, if that moment arrives, because first we must get to the final.
“He is following the normal process for an injured player,” Luis Enrique said of Neymar. “That you
don’t see him practice doesn’t mean that he isn’t training. There are lots of places to do training. The only thing I am concerned with is that he recovers 100 percent.”
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Barcelona will be looking become the first club to win the Club World Cup three times, having previously triumphed in 2009 and 2011. They will start Thursday’s game as favourites, but Barca have not won in three matches.
In contrast, Guangzhou are on a 28-match unbeaten run stretching back to May, shortly before World Cup-winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari took charge. They beat Mexican side Club America in the quarterfinal.
The winner will face Argentina side River Plate, who beat Sanfrecce Hiroshima in Thursday’s other semifinal, 1-0.
Scolari said he doesn’t think Barcelona’s quality of play will suffer with Neymar’s absence.
“Neymar is one of the three best players in the world,” Scolari said. “He has been improving over the past five years. Barca have a lot of players at a top level. Any other team would feel the loss [of Neymar] but Barca are different. They have 25 other players like him.”
Regarding the Chinese side’s progress, Scolari said the team improve daily but are aware of their limitations.
“Barcelona are one of the best clubs in the world and our players understand that well,” the Brazilian coach said. “But we are very motivated and the players are smart so it will be a great match.”
Luis Enrique said he is not taking the rival lightly, especially because the club have been struggling in their last three matches.
“It is totally erroneous [to say this will be an easy match],” the coach said. “This is not going to be an easy step, after seeing what they have done on the pitch, watching their players, we are not overconfident. Football is full of surprises and if you don’t believe that, ask America. We didn’t come to Japan thinking that this would be a vacation. This is a welcome challenge.”
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