Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari took responsibility for the team’s 7-1 semi-final loss to Germany, which he described as the “worst day” of his life.
Apologising to fans, he said:
“I will be remembered as the coach to lose 7-1 but I knew that risk when I took the job
“The person who decided the line-up, the tactics, was me. It was my choice.”
The former Chelsea manager continued:
“My message for the Brazilian people is please excuse us for this performance
“I’m sorry that we weren’t able to get to the final and we’re going to try to win the third-place match. We still have something to play for.”
However, Scoscolari also priased the German team for their performance, adding:
“We couldn’t react to going behind. Not even the Germans can tell you how this happened – but it’s because of their skills and you have to respect that.”
The defeat was Brazil’s worst ever World Cup defeat, matching the six goal deficit of Brazil’s 6-0 loss to Uruguay in 1920, and the most one-sided semi-final in the history of the competition.
Brazil will play either the Netherlands or Argentina in Brasilia on Saturday.
