#COPAAMERICA2015: Brazil still extremely dangerous without Neymar - Da Silva warns Team mates

The Paraguay defender has urged his team to be at their best when they take on the Selecao, despite the absence of their captain

Paraguay defender Paulo da Silva says his team will need to put in the performance of their lives against their Copa America quarter-final opponentsBrazil, insisting they are still "extremely dangerous" without their suspended captain Neymar.

The Paraguayans will go up against  the South American powerhouses in Concepcion on Saturday, with Selecao coach Dunga losing his captain to a four-game suspension following their 1-0 loss to Colombia last Thursday.

But veteran Da Silva, who was part of the Paraguay team that eliminated Brazil on penalties at the same stage of the 2011 competition, still maintained that their rivals remain deadly adversaries.

"Neymar is a hugely important player for Brazil," Da Silva told a press conference in La Serena on Monday. "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."

Da Silva nevertheless stated the current squad is better than that which reached the final four years ago, and is looking forward to giving one of the favourites a run for their money at the weekend after eliminating them at the same stage last time.

"I think we are a better team now than we were then," the centre-back added. "We came back from 2-0 down against Argentina and played well in phases against Jamaica and Uruguay. We have had more possession as well in recent games.

"I think we have evolved since 2011. It will be an even game and we want to give some joy to our people. It's do or die against Brazil."

Paraguay full-back Ivan Piris meanwhile stated Neymar deserved to be punished after his fracas versus Colombia, and felt his absence upped Paraguay's chances of causing another upset.
"Neymar is a great player and being without him is pretty damaging to Brazil," the Udinese man said.

And when asked about the forward's four-match ban, he added: "I don't want to talk too much about that because the problem belongs to them. But I think it's fair."