ENGLAND - PORTUGAL

NEW ENGLAND, SAME OLD STORY

DEJA-VU PENALTY HEARTBREAK FOR SVEN'S MEN

PORTUGAL 0 ENGLAND 0

PENALTIES: 3-1

The Lowdown: Another big tournament with high expectations for England, another penalty shootout loss. This was supposed to be the most talented England squad since 1966, but from the beginning of the group stages in Germany they failed to impress and many considered Portugal to be the first tough team they encountered at this World Cup. This game was eerily reminiscent of the France 98 loss to Argentina. Once again a young, hotheaded superstar was shown a red card, and once again England were abysmal on spot kicks. They have now gone out on penalties at three of the last four World Cups, and they also went out this way at Euro 2004 to the same Portugal team coached by the same coach, Phil Scolari, who has now knocked Sven's England out of three straight tournaments dating back to Japan/Korea 2002. In fact, I think England also went out on penalties at Euro 96. They are well and truly a cursed team when it comes to penalty kicks, with even superstars like Lampard and Gerrard coming up blank from the spot. In the early stages of the match things looked even, with both teams trading possession and the chances about even. Wayne Rooney had a frustrating afternoon as once again he was left as the lone striker with few opportunities. A physcial challlenge by a couple of Portuguese players around the 60th minute brought out the worst in him and he was sent off for stomping Carvalho in the groin. After this disaster England played desperately and as a result played their most courageous football of the tournament. Beckham leaving with an injury was a blessing, enabling the much more useful and dangerous Aaron Lennon to cause havoc for Portugal. Both teams had a couple of golden chances in extra time but when it came to penalty kicks it was the same old story for England. The contrast between the super-confident Cristiano Ronaldo before his kick and the hesitant, lame efforts by Lampard and Gerrard told the whole story. England are out and a euphoric Portugal and Scolari became their official nemesis and have a date with destiny, and France, in the semi-finals.

Match Rating: 4 out of 5. It was very tight, much like many games in the latter stages of World Cups so there wasn't much scoring. However it was played at a very high caliber with some superb defending from both sides.

Man of the Match: For my money Cristiano Ronaldo looked like the most dangerous man on the pitch, with England's Aaron Lennon running him a close second. It has to be Ronaldo for the way he confidently nailed the decisive penalty kick, not to mention the role he played in getting Manchester United teammate Rooney sent off. Honorable mention to Portugal goalie Ricardo, who once again snuffed English dreams, and England's Owen Hargreaves, who finally silenced his critics with the most inspired performance of his career and the best of any English player at this tournament. At one point I did a double take to make sure it was actually Hargreaves making those amazing runs at the Portugal defense and playing like an all-around nutter. Also, Portugal's Miguel is a fullback in the classic Brazilian mode who seems to be all over the field.

Disappointment of the Match: England waited so long for Rooney to regain fitness in the weeks prior to the tournament. Good thing the English love irony because there was nothing more ironic and painful than their savior sealing their fate with a horrendous stomp right in front of the referee. To be honest I didn't get a real good look at it and the jury is still out on its severity. The most amazing thing about the whole episode was Cristiano Ronaldo rushing across the field and urging the ref to book Rooney. It looked like Ronaldo's pleading had the intended effect, and the idiotic Marcelo Balboa of ESPN actually thought Rooney had been sent off for his shove on Ronaldo. Ronaldo will have to leave Manchester United now. He'll be vilified by the fans throughout England and how can he share the same dressing room with Rooney now? Flash back to France 98, when another young England superstar named David Beckham saw red in the quarterfinals for a kick on the provocative Diego Simeone of Argentina, during a game which England ultimately lost on penalties. Beckham was reviled back home for quite a while but eventually became team captain and world football icon. Hopefully Rooney can recover from this debacle.

Huh? The Spanish channel commentator momentarily switching over to English, saying "It's Crouch time" to announce the England sub. Hilarious.

The Fallout: Sven had already retired as England coach before the tournament and despite his relatively successful record in charge, his legacy will be defined by these big game losses to nemesis Scolari as well as an inability to change tactics on the fly. Portugal deserve a lot of credit. Say what you want about their cheating antics. They were without a couple of key players for this match, including perhaps their most dynamic, Deco. Yet they are now through to the semi-finals for the first time since the renowned 66 squad led by the legendary Eusebio. Interestingly, I think they may have set some kind of record for getting opponents sent off at this World Cup. It seems like it's happened at all of their games: Mexico, 2 against Holland I think, now England. Have to look that one up.

Extra: Beckham was in tears on the sideline after his injury and tearfully stepped down from the captaincy after the match. He may never start for England again. Aaron Lennon proved to be a much more dangerous and effective player whenever he was on the pitch and the next coach will surely start him over Beckham. His only hope now might be to start as a defensive midfielder but Hargreaves looks to have wrapped up that spot with this performance. There is no question that Beckham has given England some big goals in the past, including the free-kick against Greece that got England to the 2002 World Cup. He has always been the consummate sportsman, a very classy guy who gives 100% for the team. However, his reputation was always bigger than his game. He's great from set-pieces, maybe the best in the world, but outside of that skill he offers little. He has absolutely no pace whatsover which is unforgiveable for somebody playing on the wing, and the goals he scores from set-pieces are few and far between. With Beckham and Lennon there is a paradox. Beckham is the set-piece master, but he could never win a set-piece if his life depended on it. Lennon, on the other hand, constantly goes by defenders and may have been unlucky not to get a penalty in the final minutes of this game. He'll win you several corners and free kicks every game, and had he started on the wing England would have been a much more formidable opponent at this World Cup. An English TV pundit(and former coach I believe) said it best: "If I had to mark Beckham in an upcoming match, I wouldn't lost any sleep over it." The truth is out: Becks is a one-trick pony.