Brazil's football confederation (CBF) will not renew national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari's contract, local media reported early Monday, just hours after Germany defeated Argentina to win the 2014 World Cup.

Scolari said that he would let the CBF decide his fate after his team lost the game for third place 3-0 to the Netherlands on Saturday, and after being crushed by Germany in a humiliating 7-1 defeat on Tuesday.

Argentina and Brazil, South America's rival giants, have been getting over their mutual mistrust in recent years, but their newfound spirit of friendship definitely does not extend to football.

Fans from both sides had dreamed the World Cup would end with a mega-showdown against the team they most love to hate.

Thousands of Argentine fans are expected to attend Sunday's World Cup final but President Cristina Kirchner will not be among them as she is sick with throat trouble.

Kirchner disclosed the news Thursday in a letter to Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

Playing second fiddle to the injury woes of soccer star Neymar and the host country's bid for World Cup glory, Brazil on Sunday kicked off its campaign for October 5 general elections.

The continent-sized nation of 200 million will hold elections for the presidency, Congress, state governorships and state legislatures, and Saturday night marked the deadline for candidates to come forward and register.

Argentina reached the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in 24 years on Saturday after a Gonzalo Higuain strike secured a 1-0 win over Belgium.

Napoli striker Higuain lashed in an instinctive first time shot after eight minutes as Belgium's hopes of qualifying for the last four wilted in Brasilia.

An overpass under construction collapsed Thursday in this World Cup host city, killing at least two people and trapping a commuter bus, two construction trucks and a car in an embarrassment for a country that has been basking in praise for what has mostly been a smoothly running soccer tournament.

The city government released a statement late Thursday saying officials had counted two dead and 19 injured. There was no word on whether foreign tourists were among those killed or injured.

Ah, World Cup penalty shootouts. The stress. The anguish. The joy. The mad dash to find somewhere else to watch the final minutes after you smash your flat-screen TV.

That, at least, was the experience of Brazilian fan Rafael Gambarim, who was so overcome with emotion while watching the host nation's penalty shootout against Chile on Saturday that he smashed his own television set.

Brazil advanced to the quarter-finals of the World Cup on Saturday after holding their nerve to down Chile on penalties.

Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar was the hero, saving twice in the shoot-out before Chile defender Gonzalo Jara's final spot-kick crashed off the woodwork to hand the World Cup hosts a 3-2 win.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff formally launched her re-election bid Saturday, leading in opinion polls despite lingering discontent over World Cup costs.

Rousseff's leftist Workers Party (PT) approved her candidacy in a voice vote of 800 members meeting at a convention in Brasilia, with the popular former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on hand.

Brazil defender Dani Alves said Saturday Spain's premature World Cup exit was a lesson for teams as to how difficult it is to achieve success at the highest level.

Crushing losses to Holland and Chile left Spain suffering one of the earliest ever exit by defending champions and Alves told reporters that as a Barcelona player he felt for Vicente del Bosque's men.