Scolari has fond memories of Yokohama, having led this country to a fifth World Cup triumph there in 2002 when they beat Germany 2-0 in the final.
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Barcelona announce that Lionel Messi is out of Thursday’s Club World Cup semi-final as he is suffering from renal colic.
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique said the club will assess Messi and Neymar’s condition before making a decision on their participation in Sunday’s final.
Scolari said: “Football is a 90 minute game and we really wanted to make the semi-finals, so I made some high-risk substitutions [against Club America]”.
Suarez completed his hat-trick with a penalty after Munir El Haddadi was fouled by Huang Bowen.
“Luis Suarez is deadly inside the box, he will always score for you”, Barca coach Luis Enrique told reporters.
The Uruguay striker pounced on a rebound, driving it into the net after Guangzhou’s goalkeeper, Li Shuai, could only parry a heavy drive from deep by Ivan Rakitic.
Barca’s dominance was nearly embarrassing as they stroked the ball effortlessly around and not even Guangzhou’s contingent of three Brazilian players could stop them.
Two years later, Barca smashed four past Brazil’s Santos, which featured current team-mate Neymar.
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique made all the right noises about the Club World Cup on Wednesday, describing the tournament as enjoyable and prestigious, ahead of their semifinal against China’s Guangzhou Evergrande.
‘I said the other day that Barcelona are the only side who could get over the loss of a player like Neymar. They are one of the biggest clubs in Latin America and they won the Copa Libertadores for a reason.
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They fans of the AFC Champions League winners will be back in three days’ time for the match for third place, which will be an all-Asian encounter against Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima. “Barcelona are a fantastic side but we will be ready”.
