Brazil’s president on World Cup loss: ‘My nightmares never got so bad’

In her first interview since Brazil’s shock 7-1 World Cup loss to Germany, the country's president told CNN that her “nightmares never got so bad.”

President Dilma Rousseff told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that the defeat was an “extremely painful situation,” but one that Brazil would overcome.

Speaking through an interpreter, Rousseff added that “as a supporter, of course, I am deeply sorry because I share the same sorrow of all supporters. But I also know that we are a country that has one very peculiar feature. We rise to the challenge of adversity.

“Being able to overcome defeat I think is the feature and hallmark of a major national team and of a great country,” she added.

Commenting on what she thought went wrong, Rousseff said: “We came into this match without two of our main players, Neymar, a major attacker, and our captain, Thiago Silva.”

Previously, Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari apologized to fans for failing to lead the host to the World Cup final, saying the “catastrophic” defeat to Germany on Tuesday marked the “worst day” of his professional life.

“I have to apologize for the negative result, for not being able to reach the final as we all wanted,” Scolari said, speaking calmly after the humiliating 7-1 loss.

Scolari took full responsibility for the drubbing, and said he knows that it's very likely that his career may be defined by what happened at the Mineirao Stadium - even though he also led Brazil to the 2002 World Cup title.

“Naturally, if I think about my life as a player and as a coach, I think this was the worst day of my life,” Scolari said. “I know I'll probably be remembered for losing 7-1 to Germany, for Brazil's worst loss. But it was a risk I knew I was taking. I have to take responsibility for it. Life must go on for everybody.”