Several buses were set on fire and an electronics store was looted in Sao Paulo late Tuesday following Brazil's crushing World Cup defeat to Germany, police said.

Police did not give a figure but Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper said on its website that some 20 buses were torched in a garage where unused vehicles were stored.

Another three buses were set ablaze in other parts of the city.

Police did not confirm whether the fires were linked to Brazil's 7-1 humiliating defeat to Germany in the semi final, which knocked the national team out of the World Cup it is hosting.

"This is under investigation," a state militarised police spokesman told AFP.

Looters ransacked an electronics store in the east of the city.

Brazilians cried, cursed their president and covered their faces in shame after their beloved football team's humiliating 7-1 thrashing by Germany in the World Cup semi-finals Tuesday.

After the fifth goal, well before half-time, hundreds of people left their expensive seats at the stadium in the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte.

A section of the crowd chanted obscenities against the players and President Dilma Rousseff, who during the cup had mostly enjoyed a reprieve from protests over the record billion spent to host the tournament.

The tears began well before the final whistle, with the third German goal in the first half causing children and adults to start bawling in the stadium and in public screenings across the nation.

As people streamed out, police reinforced security inside and around the stadium, but no incidents were reported there.Others around the country shouted at their televisions and abandoned public screenings as the Selecao suffered the biggest defeat of its 100-year history.

Rousseff said she was "very sad" and "sorry" about the result.

Photos: EPA/BGNES

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