The hosts put in a disjointed display for large periods of the game in Fortaleza, and were left to rue a couple of superb saves from opposition goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.
Brazil and Mexico remain tied at the top of the group, with four points from two matches, and both sides will be assured of qualification if they win their final matches, against Cameroon and Croatia respectively, on Monday.
Scolari's men ought to have taken all three points, but captain Thiago Silva planted a point-blank header straight at Ochoa in the dying moments, the keeper already having produced a flying save to claw out Neymar's nodded effort in the first half.
"It wasn't a good result, a victory would have qualified us," Scolari told reporters afterwards.
"We need to respect other teams."
"There was a chance here, a chance there, it was very tight,"
"It wasn't a question of us evolving or not (from their last game against Croatia).
"We've been playing this way 20 games. We are up against good teams; we need to understand that."
Brazil will take on Cameroon in Brasilia, with the African nation first needing to avoid defeat against Croatia on Wednesday in order to remain in the tournament.
