Former England international Rio Ferdinand has claimed that Brazil's players may never recover from their humiliation by Germany at the World Cup.

The hosts were crushed 7-1 in the semi-finals on Tuesday night - a result that has left the nation in shock.

Ferdinand has now questioned whether the team has the mental strength to get over their demoralising defeat.

"I would worry that the Brazilian players might never recover from this," the defender is quoted as saying by FIFA.com. "Some might not be able to come back from this."

Brazil return to action on Saturday when they will take on either Argentina or the Netherlands in a third-place playoff.