Luiz Felipe Scolari takes blame for Brazil World Cup defeat

Brazil head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has said that he is responsible for his team's thumping defeat to Germany.

Without top scorer Neymar and captain Thiago Silva, the Selecao were blown away inside the opening half-hour as the host nation endured their worst defeat in 94 years and saw their World Cup ended in embarrassing fashion.

However, Scolari refused to let his players take all the blame for the loss and asked the Brazilian people for their forgiveness.

He told reporters: "Who is responsible for this result? I am, it's me. The blame for this catastrophic result can be shared between us all, but the person who decided the lineup, the tactics was me. It was my choice.

"We tried to do what we could, we did our best - but we came up against a great German team. We couldn't react to going behind. Not even the Germans can tell you how this happened - but it's because their skills and you have to respect that.

"My message for the Brazilian people is this. 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."

Brazil will meet the losers of the Netherlands vs. Argentina semi-final in the third-place playoff this Saturday in Brasilia.