Brazil [Images] coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said he had failed after his team had been knocked out of the World Cup quarter-finals by France [Images] on Saturday.

"I would like to thank the players. I didn't do my job because my job here was to get to the final," he said after France's 1-0 win over the holders.

"In Brazil when the national team loses the coach is to blame so I believe we will follow this script once again."

"We never prepared for this moment. This is a very difficult moment for all of us," he added.

Parreira said Brazil had paid a heavy price for failing to mark Thierry Henry [Images] at a free kick. Henry steered in Zinedine Zidane's [Images] free kick in the 57th minute.

"We were beaten by a very strong team who played an impeccable match," he said.

He said it was a pity that the World Cup semi-finals would be contested by four European teams - Germany [Images] v Italy [Images], and Portugal v France.

"There should have been at least one South American team in the semi-finals, it's a shame for world football," he added.