Football
ESPN staff 10y

Luiz Felipe Scolari backed to stay on

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has been backed to continue in his post by the president elect of the country's Football Confederation (CBF).

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Scolari and his players have faced a barrage of criticism after their 7-1 World Cup semifinal humiliation by Germany on Tuesday.

Brazil found themselves five down before half an hour had been played on an astonishing night in Belo Horizonte -- but Scolari was quick to insist he would not stand down after being on the wrong end of a record semifinal score.

And Marco Polo Del Nero, who will take over as CBF chief next year, said: "To me, he stays.

"What happened [against Germany] was a tactical error. That was the problem. But we all make mistakes -- it can happen to anyone.

"The important thing is that he did a good job. The campaign and the preparations were good. A base exists."

Scolari's side take on Netherlands in Saturday's third-place playoff match in Brasilia, and that will soon be followed by talks between the coach, Del Nero and the current CBF president Jose Maria Marin.

And speaking at a news conference, Scolari told reporters: "The first phase of my job finishes on Saturday. After that, I will prepare my report and then I will talk with the presidents.

"They will look at what was right and what was wrong in what I did, but I know in the last year and a half we had several good situations."

He added that Brazil "have to be ashamed" of the 7-1, saying: "It was a catastrophe, but I have to ask the media -- is everything bad because of one result?"

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