President Dilma Rousseff said she was sad and sorry about Brazil's humiliating 7-1 defeat to Germany in the World Cup semi-finals.
"Like every Brazilian, I am very, very sad about this defeat. I am immensely sorry for all of us. Fans and our players," she wrote on Twitter yesterday.
"But we won't let ourselves stay down," she said, before quoting a Brazilian song: "Brazil, get up, dust yourself off and move forward."
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Rousseff has seen her popularity drop over the past year amid protests against the record USD 11 billion spent on the tournament, but she still has a wide lead in opinion polls ahead of October elections in which she is seeking a second four-year term.