Brazil and Germany, the two favourites to win the World Cup, ended their preparation with contrasting wins in warm-up matches on Saturday, reports AFP, Reuters.
The wins, however, turned sour for both the side immediately as Brazil received some booing from their own fans and to a more serious note Germany lost their midfielder Marco Reus to injury.
A second-half goal from centre-forward Fred secured an unconvincing win for Brazil against Serbia.
A crowd of 67,042 saw Fluminense striker Fred slide an effort home despite being grounded after a challenge to end stubborn resistance by the Serbians, who kept Brazil starlet Neymar in check throughout.
It was Brazil who were floundering early on as they took time to find their rhythm.
The first chance fell to the Serbians, with Manchester City star Aleksandr Kolarov getting the better of Barcelona full-back Dani Alves before firing in an effort just off target.
Fans swiftly grew impatient and some started to demand Scolari turn to former striker Luis Fabiano, now 33 and not in the squad though he has managed a goal every other game in 45 appearances.
In Mainz, Germany produced a dazzling display of attacking football to thrash Armenia 6-1 in their last World Cup warm-up.
The Germans, looking to end an 18-year wait for an international title, scored all their goals in the second half after midfielder Reus was taken to hospital for checks after being injured in the 43rd minute that eventually ruled him out of the World Cup.
Mario Gotze struck twice and Lukas Podolski, Andre Schuerrle, Benedikt Hoewedes and Miroslav Klose, who became his country’s all-time top scorer with 69 goals, were also on target as the hosts hit five goals in 18 minutes.
In Foxboro, a stunning last-gasp header by Portugal’s Bruno Alves earned his side a fortunate 1-0 win over fellow World Cup qualifiers Mexico in a warm-up match.
The game looked set for a goalless draw when Bruno Alves soared to send an unstoppable header past goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa in the 93rd minute from a cross by Joao Moutinho.
But Portugal, missing captain Cristiano Ronaldo who is suffering from tendinitis and a thigh injury, also had to thank their stopper Eduardo who gave an inspired performance.
In Salvador, Nikica Jelavic gave Croatia a 1-0 win over Australia in a practice match ahead of their World Cup opener against hosts Brazil next week.
The Hull City striker broke the deadlock in the 58th minute after he benefited from a deflected ball and slotted home unmarked in the penalty area.
In Tampa, Yoshito Okubo netted the winning goal in stoppage time to give bloodied Japan a 4-3 victory over Zambia in the Asian champions’ final World Cup warm-up match.
AC Milan striker Keisuke Honda scored two goals and Manchester United forward Shinji Kagawa added another, but it took second-half entrant Okubo to send Japan to Brazil with a 3-0 mark in tune-up friendlies.
In Harrison, Greece, backed by a partisan crowd at Red Bull Arena, scored once in each half to beat Bolivia 2-1 on Friday in their final World Cup tune-up match.
Panagiotis Kone and Kostas Katsouranis scored for Greece – who open their World Cup campaign in Brazil on June 16 against Colombia – but a goalkeeping gaffe allowed Bolivia to pull one back late in the game.
-With New Age input
