Still grieving: Fernandinho: 'The pain is big'

The tournament hosts suffered a remarkable 7-1 defeat to Germany in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday, having trailed 5-0 after just 29 minutes in one of the most comprehensive beatings in World Cup history.

David Luiz apologised immediately after the match, as did Dani Alves, while even Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger said sorry to the Brazilian fans.

Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho has now followed suit, acknowledging that it will take time to come to terms with the shock result.

"I'm not sure how long it will take for me to get over this. This pain is big, big," he said.

"The people wanted a good result, a win, the title, but we lost in the semi-final and all we can do is say sorry."

Fernandinho said he had no explanation for Brazil's defensive woes, which saw them sensationally ship four goals in six minutes.

"The first half was unbelievable," he said.
"Incredible things happened out there. We can try for the rest of our lives to explain what happened, but we won't find the words.

"I've never experienced anything like that in my life."

The 29-year-old believes winning the third-place play-off against the Netherlands in Brasilia on Saturday could be pivotal to the nation's recovery.

"The best way for us now is to try to finish in third position," he said.

"The most important thing now is the psychological recovery. We have to recover for Saturday, to play to finish the World Cup in the best way we can.

"We have three or four days to take some rest and think just about the next game."