±«Óãtv

i dont belive ronaldo how can he do that to his own team mate and also how yet again can we go out on penaltys, i feel sick

Not only the press, everyone's going to judge his reign as a disappointment. Why? Because it was! He somehow contrived to make possibly the most talented group of England players for 40 years play like an inept pub side, never achieving anything like their potential and sabotaging their success any time it looked likely. He will hopefully go down as the biggest fraud in football.

It's very disappointing. I felt very sad for all of the players. I really think they gave it everything they had in the 2nd half after they went down to 10 men.

Wow, consider yourself lucky, Paul! Getting a lift from Joachim Król, one of Germany's finest actors ;) this should be some consolation for such a dark day.

what a result.

I hate sport and detest football - the only part of the world cup I happened to watch was the penalty shoot out - where the england goalie cheated every time - he is NOT supposed to move - and one england player tried to cheat by kicking before the goal keeper was ready - he didn't get away with that - but what a result - seems england cheated earlier in the match as well with rooney being sent of for a nasty foul - why can't sport just be sport - instead of this crap. maybe now we can get the normal telly programmes back instead of 'sport' railroading everything! I hope so,

A.

Really sad. England's best performance in terms of passion and guts but all to no avail and that rooney card was surely only worth a yellow.

england played well after Rooney was sent off-i wonder if we'll know the TRUE involvement of ronaldo in that-not much love lost there! Feel betrayed by Erikkson-the manager who promised so much but delivered very little.

All round good game for england especially after the red card and the substitution of Beckham. The red card was a harsh decision by the referee even though Rooney was not supposed to push a fellow player. Kudos to Owen Hargreeves who is my man of the match.

group of England players for 40 years play like an inept pub side ....or maybe that's what they are - and can't get anywhere if they're not allowed to cheat? Why is 'sport' nowadays all about money and cheating - and not really abouot sport at all?

Can't you jsut tell - all the positive commenst on here are from blinkered englishmen - maybe when they're sober tomorrow they'll see the light? I doubt it.

I don't think that the England vs Portugal game will go down as a classic. However, the Wayne Rooney sending off was absolutely justified as he clearly committed a serious foul in front of the referee. It is a shame because he is a very talented player !!

I cannot wait for the Semi finals.

Neil

England played well and Hargreaves had a great game. There should have been a penalty for England (handball) and I wonder, had Lampard missed that one, would he still be the first pen taker?
Lennon and Crouch were good and the defence and Robinson were immense.
If we had Scolari, we would have won the World Cup.

With a 9 and 7 year old boy I am finding it diffcult to get across to them that you shouldnt cheat, dive, wrestle players in the box, and finally (with Ronaldo following a long line of others) do all you can to get other players sent off.

After all this seems to go on and be rewarded or so they see, and FIFA dont seem to want to reward honesty.

The Ronaldo wink after Rooney was sent off was almost acknowledging a job well done - well that must make him very proud. Show some balls Blatter and ban him.

I'm disappointed to see so many negative comments. The Ref is the person that decided this game. In my opinion he gave the Red Card for the push on Chrisiano Ronaldo. I think that this WAS NOT even a yellow card incident, and it is wrong of Ronaldo to charge to the referee as he did. I hope he leaves England, as we do not want that kind of game over here.
Why it was a red card noone will ever know, spoiled the game completely, and we did well to hang on till the end. When are we gonna get some refereeing decisions in our favour? He put us out the world cup.

Hibbo

..played like a pub side with a poor manager. We follow St Albans City - they would have done better....

I am shocked and appalled at the dreadful job the referee did with this game.

Which genius at FIFA couldn't look back 20+ years remembering what happened in the Falklands, and the undercurrent of tension where either Argentine players or referees have been involved with England on the pitch?

To install an Argentinean referee in a quarter-final match where both teams have everything on the line seems, if not insane, then at the very least, an extremely questionable choice.

All this makes me wonder if, some months from now, a match fixing scandal similar to the current debacle in Italy, won't erupt in the wake of the doubtful decisions this, and other, referees have made during the course of this tournament.

Reluctantly, commiserations on your defeat. I say reluctantly, as an Irishman I feel a tad sorry for you lot, well to the extent of 1-2%!
This sympathy is tempered by the almost unbearable hype in Eng.re.the players by the media & fans, and to a lesser extent, themselves!

The fact is there are many reasons why England failed;but being a good Celt, we'd never tell you why!
We don't Ever want a repeat of that fluke of 40 yrs.ago! Welcome to Mediocrity, 'ad nauseum'.........

Hargreaves was utterly brilliant, quite breathtaking. His performance was the only one the team or us can take pride from.

I am sooo glad it's all over and we can get back to normal. All the hype, all the hope, all the misplaced optimism....

it was our game and we suffered. We played with our hearts and souls in the last 30 minutes. But you can't help but feel we were missing that final something.I can't write anymore...

Refused to watch the penalty shoot-out as I have done ever since it was first introduced. It is a ridiculous way to settle an important game and puts too much pressure and responsibility on an individual player, when it is supposed to be a team game. A toss of a coin would be just as fair, (or just as unfair). Having said that I thought Portugal edged it over 120 minutes, although our players gave their all. Pity about the tactics. The players never looked comfortable in their roles throughout the competition.

Terry Butcher predicted England to win 2-0. I thought he was being more patriotic than pragmatic. Erickson's players with the exception of Ashley Cole are just a shade above average yet the English press writes as though they are world beaters. Well Scolari has made England eat humble pie 3 times in a row. The English should learn from the Germans, be humble, play down your chances and take everyone by surprise!

This begs the question - would things have been different had we started with Lennon and/or Carrick?

Now no-one will know, but Ericsson has had the worst tournament of his life.

For me his management reign has been abysmal...stupid "tactical" substitutions, players playing badly and still keeping their places, and abysmal initial squad selection.

The true reason we (England) are out of this world cup is the manager, people will try to blame the players, but when you have a manager that insists on substituting the players that play well, we are not going to have any chance of reaching a World Cup Semi Final, let alone the Final itself.

Why substitute Joe Cole? With Cole and Lennon on the pitch, we would have been stretching Portugal down both wings.

And for me, bringing Carragher on at the end was a blatant attempt to play for penalties..why not bring Carrick on at the start of extra time and try and actually win the game? Yet as before, the under perfoming players (Lampard is a prime candidate here) are left on the pitch, and the players that are acheiving are subbed off.

Ericcson, good riddance, and lets hope that your managment style hasn't influenced Steve McLaren.

On the Rooney sending off, I think it should've been just a yellow card, however it was a blatant foul, in front of the referre.

To sum up our campaign in 2 words: immensely dissapointing.

a total cop out of an article - who cares how you got there now eh? Surely this match proves England can be a good team, if only when we eliminate the conservatism in selection and tactics that has made us the boring team of the world cup (until this match). Beckham may have 'set up' a couple of goals but hes prevented us from scoring many more or indeed being a decent team. Totally immobile and devoid of imagination - and yes, we know he's indispensable to Real Madrid but they're awful too. Imagine how many goals we could have scored if we'd had lennon on, or gambled with walcott against tiring defences. The souped up 2nd half performance had nothing to do with the pressured nature of the situation, or 10 men going down heroically, but the fact that we had different players who are able to pass and move and are simply better than their Portuguese counterparts. England don't need to go away and rebuild or practice penalties at the end of every session. They dont need a personality or big name coach, who 'can handle the egos'. They just need someone brave enough to forge a team from about the best natural product you could have. ie, not mclaren. lets start a campaign in the sun or something

yeah we are rubbish at penalties, but at least one good thing comes out of this, baddiel and skinner get to make another world cup song!

where is my previous post? just because I called you PIRATES it is
not posted?
What type of free press that the UK have?

Thank goodness for that! As an Englishman living abroad I'm relieved to see our 'Sunday League' team out of the way to allow real football to take place. Sadly there were no surprises, 0-0 and a penalty defeat were on the cards after 10 minutes' play and Rooney showed what he is made of - dense material - pity it stretches above the shoulders!
No plaudits for the diving Portuguese players - an utter disgrace of a match. Roll on Brazil for some entertainment.

Can't believe you lot blew it AGAIN. I was hoping you'd do it for once (even though I'm Welsh), but lo and behold...

I am genuinely sorry for you, because this is probably the last World Cup for half a dozen English stars, but come on - Lampard, Gerrard and Carragher's penalties were dreadful, Gerrard's whole game was a shocker, and Lampard has been poor for the whole tournament. And as for Rooney - ironic that the player you all hoped and prayed would be fit for the World Cup is the one who ruined it for you. Don't blame the referee - the decision wasn't harsh at all, and that back heel into Carvalho's nutsack was the best strike of a ball (or two) Rooney has had during the entire competition.

Never mind. At least Mr Burns has gone at last.

Why was Crouch not on at the start?
Even with ten men we looked more threatening after he came on.

It was the ref? This is spineless.

Just stand tall like the Australians did. They played better with 10 men on the field, it wasn't the defining moment of the game.

England have a major psycological peoblem with pens, it's something we should take a long look at ourselves about. After the 2004 debacle a paper mentioned some interesting research about penalties, had we studied it or even devoted a bit of thought to it we could have given ourselves a better chance.

As a nation we have become anxious and neurotic and we some how hope that we'll be redeemed by our heros on the field. Yet when it comes to pens they are crushed by the weight, understandably. Some teams see pens as an oppoutunity, all our players see their future on the line everytime they step up to the plate.

The Scots are happy in the only way they ever are, shadenfraude and another ignoble nation has the bragging rites again. Don't get me started on the Swede and the boy.

With the players he has to choose from Sven has the parts for a jet engine unfortunately with the system he chooses he builds a lawnmower.
I suppose his ides of excitement is watching paint dry.

this game was unfair and i really do hope tht portugal dont win the WC because it then means there is no justice at all.

what they have to know ask themselves was, was it a true win? and we all know it wasnt.

ooh well...we can never win at the penalties..

come on euro cup in 2008!

Magnanimous in defeat? You are joking? Did you not hear Alan Shearer live on the ±«Óãtv suggesting that Rooney should go an "stick one on Ronaldo". Utterly disgraceful.

so - any comments that don't result in 'we wis robbed' - get cut? What happened to free speech?

Portugal probably did not deserve to go through, but England should consider itself lucky having gone that far with that type of football. Probably they played better with when they got down to 10 men, but I have never seen a performance from England that can compare to that by Germany, Argentina, or even Spain, Mexico - teams that have already been out...Hope England will play a positive football, and then you can be sad if you lose.

why oh why did sven take walcott if he was never goign to use him.

We have the best fans in the world we deserve more than this.

Thank god we have a english coach who cares pasionately not about his pay cheque but about the marvelous fans who deserve success.

I think the english team has reasons to congratulate herself. They really tried very hard after Rooney was sent off. I would blame Sven Goran who wasn't able to make the most of his men, all excelent players.

It is unclear if Rooney's red card was due to stamping the portuguese player's groin or losing his temper right in the front of the referee when he pushed Ronaldo. But I would bet he was only going to be booked until he gave that shove to Ronaldo right in front of Elizondo.

But it was Ricardo who saved the day for Portugal. Ricardo Golden Hands as he is called here. He is without contestation one of the finest goalies in the world. Didn't he break any record? Was there ever a goalie in the World Cup that saved three times?
There were moments I was really convinced that the portuguese were going to lose, they weren't always at their best but, alas, penalties are England's Achilles heel.

I had predicted earlier, in this blog, that today's game would be a reprise of the quarter finals played two years ago and I wasn't convinced about Rooney's performance either. I think that was the first time in my life I predicted anything right!

Now, the sky is the limit for Portugal! If France wins today, we will have a reprise of Euro 2000 semi -finals. I hope this time we're more lucky. That year we lost to France due to a last-minute heartbreaking penaltie. Probably we will lose against the winner of the tourney, whoever that may be. Or maybe not.

Safaa

I wanted to say a great big thanks to Sven with his tactically inept style of management and how impressed I was with how he got away with it.

And judging by Ronaldo's display of gamesmanship with a headbutt here and a wink there I think he'll do well to stay clear of the premiership and play in Spain.

Again, many thanks to Sven for taking 15 years off my life. I hope McClaren has learned a thing or two.

But negative things aside - thank you Germany for providing a great tournament and great hospitality.

I would like to congratulate England. You hung on very well during a long part of the game with one player less. It is sad that the game had to be decided in penalties. The fact that Rooney was sent out was determinant...

I am happy for Portugal, though! :) We were also with Costinha and Deco out so, it was also good that we could pass.

england were pussys motson and lawresance retire them, rooneyyellow red no, motson overpaid get rid, england team overpaid get rid,prima donna's.if it is was a war i would speakink french or italian,started crap finnished crap dont blame manager get rid of asbeens

Disappointment is exactly right - yet again it's penalties that bring about england's elimiation and yet again it could have been so different...

Rooney's sending off being the main turning point - the fact that we performed so well a man light is testament to the drive of the players on the pitch, but why does it take a red card for our team to muster some desire?!

Sven's time in charge has been one of dodgey subs and what-ifs? A lot of credit must go to the successful method in which we have qualified for tournaments and the generally strong defence, but goals win tournaments - just ask Brazil - and that is what Sven seems incapable of getting our best players to do...

:(

Just got the hang of this blogsite! We must realise our team did not play the best football today and are not renowned for being the best at penalties. During the main part of the match Portugal played excellent football. Why do our players see the need to cry on the pitch because they lost a football match, even if it was a World Cup game? Do other sportsmen and women in other sports do that when they lose a match? After all, it is a game, nobody died, and there are so many more important things in this life to worry about. I have enjoyed this world cup but really do not think that England have played as well as other teams... so we are out... I can't think too many people are that surprised. Let's move on, and find other ways to channel our energies...

I have watched the replay of the red card incident frame by frame and cannot seem any 'deliberate' move by Rooney to hurt Carvalho. It just looked like two players tussling for the ball. But the Portugese player did make a meal of it. How come no player got yellow carded for being in the refs face ?

is the world cup a set up????? not because we lost today but because all the ref's favour the big teams! for example brazil. its begining to make me think that it is, like today ronaldo winked at the ref at the end. well that seems suspicous to me!!!

So we are Pirates ? LOL. I shall avoid much of a retort lest this thread decends into nationalist abuse. But from a nation which praises cheating as a high art I take that as a compliment. In fact I feel my levels of national pride returning, as long as we stay out of the gutter we have nothing to be ashamed about.

I feel sorry for England. The English team let us see a good match. They never give up. Very exciting. It's a pity that they lost their nerves in the penalty shootout.
I wanted to see them in the finals against us. Then it would have been soon enough to loose a game. Unfortunately this will not happen. So I have to say to our friends from England: Stay ten days more in Germany. Be our guests. Enjoy the party and drink some cool German beer with us until we will be WELTMEISTER. It will be the greatest party in Europe and you should take part in it.
Greets and consolation from Germany.

See you at the Fan Fest.

Owen Hargreave's "role" was mostly to try and break up attacks. Negative football.

I strongly dislike the way he rampages wildly towards players to try and win the ball, often clumsy in the tackle... and he's given away plenty of free kicks by doing so in this tournament.

OK.. he has an engine, but it seems to me you could have stuck any old English runner with stamina in Hargreaves place to have done about the same job.

And Hargreaves hasn't shown any ability to create...unlike say the Irishman Roy Keane, who over the years who could also win the ball, break down the attacks.... but also then choose a clever pass, distribute, create, and open up the opposition.

I wrote at the website about how England was not going to win the World Cup. But let me say something about penalty taking.

Which is the most important penalty taker? The common knowledge is that it is the number 4 player.

This guy either wins it for the team (if the other team missed), or has to score to save the bacon if his team had missed earlier.

Smicer scored the number 4 at Liverpool's shootout against AC Milan last year. Poldolski took the number 4 for Germany yesterday.

Who did England send out as No 4? Carragher. Someone who had only been on the pitch for 3 mins, and someone who had less than a handful of goals to his name in his professional life.

OK, guys. First regarding the red card. Here on German TV they showed the foul from all different angles and some professional referees analyzed it. You can clearly see that Rooney after getting up, kicked his left foot back intentionally. He hit Ronaldo in the genitals. No question, clearly a red. Rooney should have kept cool there and he didn't. But for the actual game it didn't really matter, because the English team did a really good job in controlling the Portugese. And I don't think you can really say anything negativ about England's defense in the whole tournament. The biggest problem of England throughout the tournament was (and it was today as well) the midfield. You have a bunch of really great players there, but somehow they didn't play that great. And the whole strategy of the England team was very disappointing, given the fact that these great players play so well in their clubs. So I beg to differ with Paul on the Eriksson comment. It was his strategy and it sucked. England played without ideas and inspiration. And as they said here on German TV: Either the team didn't listen to what he said or he said the wrong things. Either way, he is to blame and England should be glad, he's gone. Now please pick a better coach and come back next time. With these players you deserve to win, but not with this kind of play. And since I'm German, I know what I'm talking about, because our team played the same crap over the last many years. Good that Klinsmann came and brought a fresh wind into this old DFB. Will we win? Well, after yesterday I think this team might actually make it, but given the fact that Klinsmann actually built this team for the future, it doesn't matter. And if not, we'll play a new and better English team in the final in South Africa. How about that? So good bye Englad for this time. It was great having you here and (with just a handful of exceptions) your fans were great too. Hopefully this championship could at least get them to see that some of the stereotypes about Germans are not true. See you again in 2 years at the Euro 2008 and then in South Africa. Good luck until then!

BTW, Paul, I always thought Joachim Król not only to be a good actor, but also a nice person. Your experience confirms that. I hope you anyway had a good time even so England lost. And I hope you'll cover the remaining games in the same interesting and nice way as you did so far. It's always fun reading this blog.

Ignore everyone else here. There's only one person who has made any sense in the last few weeks, and that's me.

Once Rooney was sent off, England knew the age-old script: defend "heroically, stoically, magnificently etc", narrowly fail to score on the counter, and then lose on penalties.

The only problem with the script was that had they shown a bit more enterprise, England could have won it in normal time, even without Rooney. But deep down in the English psyche, the players would rather be heroic losers than actually win the damned match. With Rooney off the pitch, Crouch gave a world-class lesson in how to perform as a lone striker; winning every ball, holding it up brilliantly, waiting for support from midfield and passing intelligently to his team-mates. Wayne Rooney, please take note. Had England thrown more men forward in support of Crouch and Lennon, I believe that England would have won the game. But somewhere inside their souls, the England players never really believed that they could win it. The Portuguese rarely threatened the England goal, even with the extra man. If there was one moment in the game where England threw in the towel, it was when Lennon was taken off for Carragher. There were two minutes left on the clock, but England signalled to Portugal that they would settle for penalties. In those two minutes, England totally lost concentration and Portugal had easily their best chances of the game.

Now, let's please abandon this nonsense that penalties are a "lottery". This is a myth that ex-footballers spread to protect players. Penalties are not down to luck. Penalties and about pressure, skill and the collective and individual character of the players. If penalties were a lottery, then Germany would not have won every penalty shoot-out in the last 25 years, and England would not have lost every penalty shoot-out in the last 25 years (with the exception of the Spain game in Euro 96). England did not lose because penalties are a matter of luck, they lost because Lampard, Gerrard and Carragher all took terrible penalties. Not because they are bad players, but because in the heat of the moment, when the world's spotlight was on them, they lost their nerve. And it seems to me that this is less to do with individual pressure, and more to do with something deeply flawed in the English sporting character. How appropriate that England's only scorer was Hargreaves, raised in Canada and schooled in Germany.

So, now the post-mortem begins. I have been a support of Eriksson, but his selections and tactics were terrible from the start. But his reign is over, and England must learn. It's also worth remembering that while the press will take great delight in slagging off Sven (and Beckham), they will patriotically overlook the failings of certain players. Already, the Match of the Day team were refusing to blame Rooney for his hot-headedness and petulance and claiming that his frustration came from playing out of position. Yes, he was frustrated, but he must take responsibility for his actions. Lampard was England's worst player in the tournament by some distance. Over five games, he did not contribute one telling tackle, pass or shot. And given that the formation of the team was adjusted to accomodate his partnership with Gerrard, it was a woeful series of displays. When he stepped up to take the penalty, I think that everyone in England knew that he would miss it. As David Beckham must someday learn penalties are not about individual redemption, they are about collective success.

Beckham has probably played his last game for England, and it's sad that a man who has contributed so much should end his career with a whimper, but it's time for him to go, and in Lennon England have a player with equal (but very different) quality.

One final word should go to Ronaldo, whose behaviour over the course of the match was shameful. Of course the press will lambast him, and rightly so. But I have the sneaking feeling that until English players learn to be just as sneaky, savvy, sly and unsporting, they will continue to be heroic losers. I'd rather that they won for a change.

I think England played real well after Rooneys sending off. However, penalties are part and parcel of major competions and England can't convert them. They have no one to blame but themselves!

As a United fan I hope we sell Ronaldo to the Madrid Circus to do his tricks and dive about, his attitude makes me sick, his reaction got Rooney sent off, pure and simple.

It's hard to tell but just before the push on Ronaldo the ref was starting to wave everyone else away - Rooney was was definitely going to get a card. The secondary action right in front of the ref was the clincher. He had to go.

I actually discussed this matter with a friend prior ro the game - I referred back to Beckham in France '98 and hinted that the Portuguese shenanigans may set off Rooney's very short fuse. Rooney has got into a number of scrapes with referees this season, and he never seems to learn from his mistakes. You can take the chav out of the estate, but you cannot take the estate mentality out of the chav.

I was pleased for Owen Hargreaves though - he showed what he does for Bayern week in week out. It's a crying shame that he is not appreciated by the majority of England fans - he would have been a welcome addition to the Germany squad had he opted to play for the Mannschaft.

England were terrible, predictable but terrible. sack everyone and start again. as always the idea must be "to pass it back to the keeper"
there was no attacking to try and score and when there was peter crouch was left on his own in the portugal half.
it's no suprise rooney was sent off and who needs him anyway? theo walcott never seen a game so sven's "golden boy" never got to play.
get an english manager instead of foreign dreamers who show no emotion on the side lines.
england need to "play to win" instead of "keep the attackers at bay"
that way we might win something. we need the 1966 attitude but for some reason we haven't got it. lampard should not have played and lennon should have played from the start and should definately not have been taken off for the cowboy who replaced him.
who knows? lennon might have scored in penalty's.
anyway, play to win and keep the fans happy!!!!

Every time. Every ****ing time. Hargreaves was fantasic, even Beckham had a good 46 minutes, but we all know that England and knockout competitions don't mix.

I have just returned from the outdoor screening at Munich's Olympic Stadium. Thanks to the anonymous Germans who bought me a commiseratory glass of beer tonight, and thanks to everybody else who have hosted, and will continue to host, a fantastic competition.

Until next time...

@Post #41:

Portugal won't win the world cup. Excuse me, but the real final took place yesterday afternoon. Those who beat Argentinia, definitely one of the strongest teams of this tournament, will get the cup!

Also: 54 x 74 - 1990 = 2006

BUT: England was the better team today and you would have deserved to proceed. From deep down in my heart I would have done anything for an England vs. Germany final... But just like all the other years we're probably gonna end up playing Brasil again. Why don't we just fly in for the final in 2010? Would save us a lot of money...

Well another early exit, and I think when the dust has settled we have to face facts. Their is no doubt we have the talent as far as players go, but our management was poor and I feel will continue to be so with our new man having accomplished next to nothing before being handed the job.

We had our first penalty taker, who prior to the game was reported to be suffering from a lack of confidence, and we had another penalty kick taken by a guy who was barely warmed up.

Their are no excuses for this defeat, if Rooney can't control his character, then his ball control is of little consequence.

I am a Canadian who is a huge Manchester United and German National Team fan. Those of you who support England need to realize that no England player has stepped up in a big Tournament since Linekar in 1986. Lampard, Gerrard and Beckham let you down. NOT THE REF!!

Of course disappointed but also of course not surprised. It did seem Ronaldos sheer intent was not only to get a fellow professional sent off but also a team mate!
Having watched Portugal in two games v us and Holland they have put me off football at least the international version. I am sorry winning the Ronaldo way is simply not worth the candle. You can understand if his team cheat in this way over a simple game of football why with such people in the world there are so many conflicts.That is what I find saddest.
I am sorry I am unable to wish Portugal well: I think R has played his last ever game for Man U: he will be no loss.

Why does it take a catastrophe like that rubbish sending off to get the England team attacking and playing with some passion and spirit?
Owen Hargreaves was everywhere the whole game, just superb and thats how you want everyone to play in a quarter final. Lampard was atricious back passes, missed chances, negative and just a liability. Unfotunately Steven Gerrard had only a fair game and the injury to Beckham just highlighted the potential of Lennon. If he had had more service and been brought on more with 11 players he could have made a difference shame Beckham and Lampard could never be substituted for dips of form. Overall I still hold my head up high as an Englishman and I tend to think that Sven could have done things so differently, he deserves everything he is going to get. It wasn't unfortunate England were still quite lame until they had a sense of purpose and that is the manager.

I think it is fair to say that England deserved nothing from the game. Rooney stamped on Carvalho deliberatly. Our penalties were poor and once again we played poorly. So our defending was sound! Where were the efforts to score a goal. We laud our league as the most direct single minded league, but when it comes to it, we lack ability. Lampard...poor, Beckham poor.... Eriksson...poor! We need a massive shake up in personel and in mentality.

Hargtreaves was class - reminded me of Bryan Robson at his best. What planet was Erikson on bringing on Carragher 2 minutes before penalities when he had the likes of Carrick and Jenas on the bench. BTW I was shouting this in the pub way before Carragher bombed out. Once again the Swede lost his head when all around him the Englan player were keeping theirs.

Yet again. Why is it impossible for England to win a penalty shoot-out? Having been disappointed on so many previous occasions I had no expectations today when we failed to finish it in normal and then extra time. Having said that I hoped, prayed and employed every possible positive thought to no avail. What do all the shops do with their ample supply of England stuff now? One newsagents I visited today, before the match, already had their flags etc marked down. Get what we expect?

i agree, nausea is the overwhelming feeling that one gets from these situations. And disgust at the actions of certain Portuguese players, namely Ronaldo. what was he thinking? here in England it was tense enough. my family aren't football fans, but they were shouting and screaming like everyone else in the street. it's that tension and passion that can be so rewarding if you win, i guess. Penalties is no way to go out of a competition, but it was the decision to send rooney off that wound me up. the referee's body language suggested to me that he hadn't seen it, and reacted to what ronaldo was saying to him. and that is why foreign teams will always get the better of us in these situations. by cheating, by being underhand. and we wll never achieve, because we try to play with dignity and sportsmanship. it's a sad life, really. still, chin up, there's always next time...

Sorry to see you go. I'll miss the English game and fans.
You may not have played at at your best level, but so has everybody else.
Even though England has to leave too early, I believe that England and her magnificant fans are amongst the winners in the German public opinion.

Hehe, Joachim Krol - a good actor indeed...and a BIIIG Borussia Dortmund supporter btw.
Must admit I was hoping for a Portugal win but after the sending off I caught myself rooting for England - never ever thought that would happen, great fight...
Man, I was damn sure the lads would win the penalty shootout - seems I forgot it's ENGLAND ;-)...

But to be honest, England was damn poor in this tournament. Awful, awful football - nopace, no movement.
High expectations and all this "we know we can play better" talk...problem was guys: NO, you obviously can't!!!

If this game showed us one thing than that David Beckham simply doesn't belong in the starting lineup anymore - Lennon was faaaar better. I don't know why SGE kept starting him - let's hope McLaren has the balls to play Lennon or Gerrard on the right, Beckham is done. Scoring with a freekick once in a while just isn't enough anymore.
And what the hell was the "coach" thinking playing only Rooney up front - the boys damn good when he attacks the goal with pace from midfield but he was left alone...and why the hell was Walcott in the squad, Sven???
SGE legacy: 3 tournaments, 3 quarterfinal defeats and a terrible "farewell" tournament - I doubt that SGE knew what he was doing the last few weeks...

Sorry to say that this defeat suits you well after all that display of arrogance in your newspapers. We may be a small and insignificant country but we did not forge interviews, or make up news to interfere with players concentration. Your tabloid articles did everything possible to put us down, your defeat is well deserved. You have a lot of thinking to do...
Viva Portugal!

I feel GREAT that's it's over and maybe all the hype will end - and a little modesty will appear? Na - english arrogance will continue I fear. Make youor excuses all you like - at no time did england look like champions -

A valiant show in the final half an hour, but alas the last performance of Eriksson's reign was symptomatic of the same problems. England cannot seem to win a game outright within ninety minutes when it matters the most. A combination of complacency and self-destruction once again left their ugly features on what was an otherwise enthralling encounter. Rooney's dismissal finally seemed to act as the cue to go forward and be daring, but why wait until we are at a significant disadvantage? Not to mention the earlier withdrawal of Beckham and the injury-stricken Owen. Truly great teams press forward and score with the intention of then controlling the game, that's what wins World Cups. Great defending to keep the scoreline level does matter, but Rooney was in need of a strike partner to play off and should not have come back so deep to collect the ball, which led to his entanglement and its unfortunate outcome. England, with the quality of players at their disposal, should not simply soak up the pressure and then rely on the lottery of penalties. The renewed urgency of the attack in the wake of the sending-off demonstrated what was possible all along, but sadly failed to materialise, throughout most of this tournament.

>> ana

WRONG there was no jingoism in our papers and all the press said that it could go either way. The idea that the press was slating Portugal was put about by Scalari to motive his troops and supporters. Crappy mind games, ho hum.

Andrew, you say you detest football but still claim to an expert on the rules.

Robinson is perfectly entitled to move before the penalty is taken, that rule has changed a few years back, hence Jerzy Dudek's antics for Liverpool in the Champions League final.

I saw no malice in the stamp by Rooney, it looked accidental to me.
And I can perfectly understand Rooney's reaction to Ronaldo, this was someone he knows well, someone who's meant to be his friend, trying to get him sent off. That has got to be the ultimate football betrayal.

If it wasn't for the push on Ronaldo , Rooney would have stayed on, the Ref wasn't even looking at Rooney before that, he would have got a yellow max.

And before Rooney was off, there were already signs England were taking the upper hand, Lennon terrorising their defence and Rooney scuffing his left foot shot.

Even with 10 men England looked to be the better side, much more likely to score. That takes the sting away from the defeat, if England had lost without doing anything it would have been terrible. But with 10 men the team pulled together and we got nearly an hour of brave defending and more ambition in attack than Portugal ever had.

Well done England.

On the whole, a bunch of bottlers. Typical England. Glad to see the back of Eriksson.

Pity we never got to see Crouch and Rooney together in this game. Didn't think Portugal had much to offer even when 11 on 10.

Rooney's red card was harsh. But his reputation precedes him

As for Ronaldo. The 'wink' said it all.

We are not good enough - we are a nation of losers and that is how it is.

Why is Steve Mclaren the new manager? we should have got a winner involved in there. The FA are a waste of time and so are England. PATHETIC.

Very poor indeed and we need a serious re-think.

Rant over, probably won't be posted but needs to be adressed. now

Here we go, some people - not only here - already start blaming the referee again.
Here's hope the tabloid press doesn't mess with this and start a campaign against the ref with the result of Death threats like two years ago...if so the Fifa/Uefa should consider banning England from future tournaments, that's something totally unacceptable.
Urs Meier went through hell for a totally correct call at the EC 04 and you can debate wether it was red or not - some will say yes and some no but it's certainly not a blown call, period.
The lads went out in style - unlike the damn Argies yesterday - and the press should take notice and behave although I highly doubt that.

To the poster who criti the Fifa for putting a n Argentinian in charge of the game: What the hell are you talking about??? If we have to take something like 20 years old wars into consideration than we can stopinternational football...what's up with people these days, is it always the Refs fault!? Yesterday the Argentinians blamed the ref - for what??? Lubos Michel had a pretty good game and now some English fans start blaming the Fifa, the ref - come ooon...

I think Frank Lampard was a disagrace to the England team his performance was awful he should be drop for future games.

England V Portugal

In the half time blog of the same title (England v Portugal)stating my reservations about the the argentinioan Ref and the outcome of the game based on the Malvinos Ilsands (The falklands to you and me).

I wonder why a penalsty wasn't given when the england player was bought down in the box, Wayne Rooney was sent off, and no yellow card, and the penalty shootout goal was disallowed after the whistle was blown?

I believe it was to give the Portugese the most opportunity of winning as Possible and aid the portugese goalie in knowing wich way the striker would shoot on the second attempt.

I have watched every match so far and seen some real crappy ref decisions, english refs included, its time a sub ref was an option and probable corrupt refs replaced with neutral refs.
this would ensure a fair game, just refuse to play until the ref was replaced.

how can two americans be sent off ruining a probable good game? and bring on Assisted TV like in rugby?

Stop this rubbish refereeing, im sure all countries would agree to that. if your real crap then lose but lose fair thats not alot to ask.

Well I guessed right, we lost, but im proud of the England Team, playing admirably a loaded game with only ten men, well done.

What now, well seeing our Royal Family is of Germasn Origin, Come on Germany I suppose, we look forward to seeing you in the European cup, remember 5-0, we do LOL

you hosted a good tornament, well
done!!!!.

In Athletics a cheating team would be stripped all its medals, when Maradonna admitted and apologised for the infamous hand of god, why wasnt the Agrentinian team stripped of their medals , they did after all cheat, no different to taking steroids is it.

why should we be magnanimous in defeat? is that the'english' way? i suggest that fletch has been watching too many b movies re 'stiff upper lip' and all that. We were beaten by a bunch of divers and simulators. If thats what it takes, why not just give up the world cup altogether, because we just can't get past teams who do that. It was disgusting to watch..ronaldo's wink to the bench..the rolling over and over, where to end the litany of simulation? On the portuguese blog 'if you ain't cheating, you're not trying'. Is this where football's heading? If so I'm supporting Kampala United from now on. FIFA a disgrace, and their referees too.

Iv heard a lot of criticism about england performances and i felt i had to speak against it. It wasnt so long ago u wer all slagging Hargreaves off and look how he played today! How can any1 fault any of the england players after a performance where they gave 110% and so nearly won it. Even with ten men we looked more like scoring. It was Ricardo who saved Portugal today not a portuguese team effort. At the end of the day those england players played with every bit of grit they possesed and while i am bitterly disappointed i cant help but feel proud of how we performed. This coming from a 15 year old while most of you are whining like babies.

Sorry to say that this defeat suits you well. Especially your arrogant and malicious press.
I hope you learn your lesson - never underestimate others. You're not that good!
Viva Portugal

Hargreaves was the best for England. Interesting that he would play his best game today, on Canada Day, as he is from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

why was my post taken off? because i said that 'if you're not cheating you're not trying' states the portuguese SOUL? I took that straight from apost match portuguese blogger.

@Madelaine (#78): Why England can't win a PK shootout? Well number one, by now after all these years of lost shoot outs, most likely it's a mental problem. But number two, it's a problem of the coach. It is a well known fact here in Germany that the coaches tell our players to shoot in the upper half of the goal. No matter where. Because there most kicks actually score. And if you look at the goal keepers, you can see why. They focus on one side and fall down there hoping to catch the ball. So if you play low, you're for sure safer (again, mental problem!), but the goalie is more likely to catch it. And ALL English players today played low. So I guess another point I need to add to my Eriksson-mistake-list. BTW, just to give you an idea on the German PK tactics from yesterday. Their were discussing all over German TV today what was on Lehmann's little piece of paper he got out before every PK. There are two opinions. #1, for each player a preferred corner for PKs. #2, nothing at all and it was just to confuse the players (what's he reading about me? well I always shoot to the right, so lets shoot to the left today...) No matter what it was, it was just great PK tactics. And that's why Germany wins these shoot-outs and England doesn't. But I'm sure at one point this curse will break. So as I said ealier, I hope we see you again soon. And thanks to England's players for showing better sportsmanship after the game than Argentina yesterday. Ronaldo on the other hand... well. Oh and to the Portugese fans her: phantastic goal keeper you have there.

To Ana, you weren't that good either, worse in fact..Ronaldo's wink all that saved you. If I was portuguese tonight i wouldn't be able to hold my head up and look anybody in the eye..

GUTTED (again).

England were great, my only criticism, against a team with 5 players on yellow cards, you've got to run at players more.

Thought the Rooney red card was diabolical. The Man U training ground is going to be an interesting place to be as they return for pre-season training.

England til I die

censored.. the bbc are a bunch of national socialists.. and censorship goebbels would be proud of.

Jesse Owens.. and a France win for the world cup, who are you kidding? Obviously everyone..

one thing I'll be glad about, and i haven't much tonight to be glad about,is that there'll be an end to the interminable sven - haters,celts and other axe grinders lining up to take shots at honorable men doing their best in difficult and pressurised circumstances. Thanks guys, you won in the end and may the good lord have mercy on your souls. satisfied now?

Just saw this nice quote from Eriksson - The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.

If only Sven was as good a football manager as a philosopher.

England failed (despite all the talk about practicing shootout) because the players feared.

Lampard feared. Gerrard feared. Beckham feared. The Englisg team collectively feared failure.

Not only the English. Ronaldino in this world cup feared more than the Ronaldino we saw 4 years ago.

Zidane looked like a man freed from the shackles of expectation and played some wonderful stuff.

You Just Kick a Ball and Score, where is the Foul in That?

So why make Carragher take it again?

First time Eng-er-land come up against a half-decent side and they lose. No more excuses please.

Personally, I think the whole match was pretty fair. Even Rooney's red card. Both teams were very strong and penalties were the only way to see who was best. Just a shame England are just not as good at penalties as the rest of the world. But hey, 4 years to go. Plenty of time to practise. By the way, I really don't think Rooney would have made a difference.

Let's just hope those England fans in Germany will leave Gelsenkirchen without trashing the place.

^ I saw this within minutes of match ending.

Sad, but in honesty we did have a very underperforming World Cup under Sven's tactics, playing one striker upfront, and Frank Lampost clearly being totally out of form.

It's all very disaapointing and England never showed any class, so we can't complain. But FIFA have to think long and hard about how to punish the cynicism that has characterised this tournament. We saw Ronaldo "headbut" his club colleague Rooney before kick off, wind him up, get him sent off, then wink to his bench when having already agitated for a move from his club. We have seen countless players diving holding their faces when they have at worst been pushed in the chest. FIFA has a choice - whether to reward cheats or fair play. The long term popularity of the game is at stake if, in the end, tournaments are decided largely on the whims of referees and which side can manipulate officials the best. If you can ban someone retrospectively for violent conduct the referee did not see, why shouldn't you ban someone for blatant cheating?

Once again our over paid footballers fail to deliver. Is it the coach? Are they just losers? My biggest problem watching the whole tournament is the endemic cheating that goes on. Lets roll around on the floor, scream at the referee because he has made a decision or because someone has looked at them funny. It is a game played by massively over paid children. FIFA is a joke, run by a fat, toothless crook. We should all just give up on it.

Once again our over paid footballers fail to deliver. Is it the coach? Are they just losers? My biggest problem watching the whole tournament is the endemic cheating that goes on. Lets roll around on the floor, scream at the referee because he has made a decision or because someone has looked at them funny. It is a game played by massively over paid children. FIFA is a joke, run by a fat, toothless crook. We should all just give up on it. Beautiful? My arse.

can't see ronaldo and rooney playing together for much longer, gary neville will have something to say too i bet. Let's hope that rooney goes back to old trafford and in shearer's words, 'sticks one on him'. Shame, i like his play but not his dirty tactics. Portugal has taken football and dragged it through the, well i'll say mud though you know what i mean

VIVA PORTUGAL!!!!!!!
Don't blame no one but yourselves!
WE'VE MADE IT!

Well another early exit, and I think when the dust has settled we have to face facts. Their is no doubt we have the talent as far as players go, but our management was poor and I feel will continue to be so with our new man having accomplished next to nothing before being handed the job.

We had our first penalty taker, who prior to the game was reported to be suffering from a lack of confidence, and we had another penalty kick taken by a guy who was barely warmed up.

Their are no excuses for this defeat, if Rooney can't control his character, then his ball control is of little consequence.

To Raquel, made what? piss poor performance, couldn't even score a goal against a 10 man england in open play. France, who've just won, will take you apart. vive la france!

England V Portugal

In the half time blog of the same title (England v Portugal)stating my reservations about the the argentinian Ref and the outcome of the game based on the Malvinos Ilsands (The falklands to you and me).

I wonder why a penalty wasn't given when the england player was bought down in the box, Wayne Rooney was sent off, and no yellow card, and the penalty shootout goal was disallowed after the whistle was blown?

I believe it was to give the Portugese the most opportunity of winning as Possible and aid the portugese goalie in knowing wich way the striker would shoot on the second attempt.

I have watched every match so far and seen some real crappy ref decisions, english refs included, its time a sub ref was an option and probable corrupt refs replaced with neutral refs.
this would ensure a fair game, just refuse to play until the ref was replaced.

how can two americans be sent off ruining a probable good game? and bring on Assisted TV like in rugby?

Stop this rubbish refereeing, im sure all countries would agree to that. if your real crap then lose but lose fair thats not alot to ask.

Well I guessed right, we lost, but im proud of the England Team, playing admirably a loaded game with only ten men, well done.

What now, well seeing our Royal Family is of German Origin, Come on Germany I suppose, we look forward to seeing you in the European cup, remember 5-0, we do LOL

you hosted a good tornament, well
done!!!!.

In Athletics a cheating team would be stripped all its medals, when Maradonna admitted and apologised for the infamous hand of god, why wasnt the Agrentinian team stripped of their medals , they did after all cheat, no different to taking steroids is it.

World cup 2006 in brief.

Match one England underperform things can only get better.
Match two England underperform things can only get better.
Match three England underperform things can only get better.
Second round England underperform things can only get better.
Quarter finals England underperform, last game as manger for Sven, THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER.

It ain't commin home yet and playing like eleven dustmen from Wigan it never will. If they had played exciting football and lost no complaints but this... bah!

I second all the comments about cheating. If people rolled around like that after minimal contact on the rugby field they'd be laughed out of the game. or hockey. or cricket. or tennis. or any other sport, come to think of it. but it is something about the nature of football, and particularly football in other countries, that encourages cheating. I hope i'm not being racist by stating this, but it would be rare to see an English player diving or simulating injury, or clamouring to get an opponent sent off. Maybe there have been. And the majority of foreign players in the English leagues do not do this on a week in week out basis in league time, it just seems to be either in european or international competitions. We don't see a lot of Ronaldo acting like that when he plays for Manchester United, so why should he suddenyl start as soon as he plays for Portugal? is it the manager? the climate of world cup? the ethos of the national team? I'm sure he wasn't alone in that game in corrupting thee rules, but he was an obvious example. The whole Argentina outburst yesterday was also redolent of the culture of cheating and bad sportsmanship that seems to dog that country. Disgusting, the way they kicked Mertesacker's leg and cut it, after the game had already been decided. I'm hoing Sepp Blatter isn't cowed by the cheats and actually stands up to them. Argentina should face punishment for their actions, and Ronaldo should be punished retrospectively for his actions. I actually had a degree of respect for Portugal prior to this game - they certainly didn't cheat their way past us in Euro 2004, but it was a shame they had to resort to that tonight. Not that we played well and were robbed, we were pretty awful with 11 men, and only became galvanised when we thought it might all go down the pan. Erikssons tactics of hit and hope are outdated, better suited to Norway and Jack Charlton's Ireland. We rushed every pass, never played the safe option and retained possession, and Rooney was too keen to show that he 'still had it'. if he'd played with the team, then he may not have become frustrated, which in turn would have stopped the Portuguese players from targeting him. he showed signs of frustration, and that is all that an opponent needs to see to hatch their masterplan of winding you up. It was a shame that is had to end that way. And what was the point of Sven bringing Theo Walcott if he never played him? That limited his options and meant that we had to resort to Crouch. rouchworked so hard, but he didn't have pace when we needed it. The only real positive from that match was that Owen Hargreaves finally fitted into a syste for England, rather than coming on as a negative substitute. I question whether Sven's heart was really in it. Every Englishman (and woman) grows up with the dream of England winning the world cup, and wishes they were a part of that. To think that his heart was not really in the matter, even in the slighest way, sickens me. Passion was what was needed. And Eriksson does not have an ounce of passion. Ian Wright and Alan Ball had it. Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves had it. however many thousand England fans in the stadium had it in abundance. I should imagine the vast majority of people reading this have it. The calm, subdued approach to tournaments has got to stop. get behind the team, the team you've picked. tell them to go out there and play for the same reasons you asked for the job in the first place. I only saw Sven leave his seat once, compared to Scolari, who never seemed to be in it at all. McLaren was out of it far more than Sven, who might as well have been sitting in the stands.
On the plus side, at least there's been no racist chanting this tournament, or at least i haven't heard of any yet!

Ian, 'animal' is probably the right word.i'm a traveller and contrary to what you think (based on what? guardian reports?) the english are well-liked wherever i've travelled and i've never had aproblem. I never cease to marvel at how the English are capable of self-criticism, but when it strays into hatred of your own then maybe its time to realise you have a problem that needs to be assessed. Maybe its you who needs to learn a lesson, England were great tonight.

I think everyone needs to calm down.
I'm as gutted as everyone else, but at the end of the day we did not do enough to go through.
We are great at hanging on, but what for if we just roll over when the pressure is on?
Sven has been ok for us, give the guy a break.
Holland/Argentina/Spain/Brazil are all out yet they are good teams.

Can only be one winner but 31 losers.

I for one hope the Germans win it. Been great hosts and have played with passion.

The ±«Óãtv pundits/press have been a disgrace and as an English man I feel embarrassed, whom do I write a letter too about that? :)

Ronaldo yes was out of order, but Roony did not have to react, let’s not dwell on calling people cheats.

Where is des and the old Kipling poem when you need him.

France/German final I hope.

It was a feeling of deja vu mate, you are spot on. I wish England were spot on, but enough about puns. The fundamental failings, in my opinion, was Sven's omission of Defoe rather than Walcott. This came through in the game as a bit of pace would have worried Portugal, yet only Lennon really provided it. Another issue which helped to stack the odds against England was the petulance and tenacity of young Rooney which helped him see red. Rooney was tireless against Ecaudor and would have certainly provided much needed passion and impetus, which only surfaced after the Rooney red card.
Thus, it was left to the Russian Roulette of penalites to see us out again, de ja vu as you said. I feel sorry for the fans personally I felt that we were let down by bad management - in terms of individual merits the players are world class in their own right, but in synergy terms they never complimneted each other.
I hate to dial-a-cliche but next time eh?

Yes, let's be pleased for France. Why? Because they beat Brazil, and in doing so, reminded the world that football is about football, not hype and reputations. The amount of nonsense written about Brazil has been astonishing. The English press, in particular ooh and ahh every time a Brazilian gets the ball, failing to notice that Ronaldo, Adriano, Ronaldinho etc have been astonishingly average. Before the tournament people were asking if this could be the event that catapults Ronaldinho into the realm of Pele and Maradona. No. There was one truly world-class star on show today, but he was playing for France and was called Zinedine Zidane.

What we are failing to mention is that time after time, the players that we watch week in week out terrorising premiership defences, turn up with three lions on their shirt and fail to perform to any sort of standard. We are reflecting on the fact that England were strong when reduced to 10 men with 60 minutes remaining and performed well, when actually they have been weak against all the opposition at this world cup including 60 minutes into the Portugal game.

How many more times do we have to watch over paid players and coaches guide us to underachievement in a European/world cup tournament.

i feel like giving up watching England play football because i know ultimately that we will fail each time. This time though we did it with the most talented team England have churned out but with the dampest squib.

Depressing

I have just taken a bus back home from Clapham to home. En route I was subjected to possibly the worst face rubbing I have ever encountered - going through the area with the largest Portuguse community in the UK. I cannot express how angry I am with yet another dirty portugal victory (I refer to their knock-out round form, not specifically to their encounters with England).I hope France trounce them. I really do...
As is typical with this world cup, best performance so far and we're out...

Typical, Fickle! The guy has just summed himself up! "we wait months to make sure Rooney is fit then it was better if he wasn't there as at least we would have 11 on the pitch"!!! As an MUFC fan, it is this narrow mindedness of england fans that has turned me to spurn the country for so long, however this World Cup I thought I would do the patriotic bit and join the gang, and what fun I was having!! I was cheering more than most when JT threw his body at a tackle or Stevie G lined one up from 30 yards but no doubt tomorrow the press will reflect on how MUFC cost us the WC again! On this point though, as a Man Yoo fan, I never want to see Ronaldo ( the fake one ) wear the red again, as far as I am concerned he can go on a free to City for all I care, hell they can even throw Fletcher in!!!! Never seen anything as criminally back stabbing as that in my life!!! Give him to Bolton, Let's get Aaron lennon in......or even Zinedine Kilbane!!!!

England lost, had no excuse (because Germany beat the Favourites at the same temperatures) and are the team that should have gone out long ago, not because the Portugese played better, but because the English played badly throuout the tournament.

The English results have nothing to do with penalties, it is to do with not playing well in the previous 120 minutes. If you are not hard enough, don't ask for it.

Who needs argentinian ref's,portuguese divers and simulators, etc etc when some of the english on this board are the worst 5th columnists i've ever encountered? Jez, neil, wilfy,tim the red wilson etc ad nauseam. Reminds me of an australian joke: how do you know when a plane from england has just landed? the whining carries on after the engines have stopped! Get a life or get behind your team, for god's sake.

yesterday, all of you, were singing...don´t cry for me Argentina.. and today... what are you going to sing ?
Sorry, see you in 4 years. We will be waiting....

I would be embarresed & ashamed to be one of the 6 pundits / commenatators on ±«Óãtv TV tonight i did not hear what was said after the game tonight as i had already switched To radio five live commentry by that time.
I do not believe England have played to the there potential in this tournament but at half time today i was shocked to hear lineaker , Shearer , Wright and Hansen all slate the English team. To me it came across as four blokes who can not see the wood for the trees due to personal vendettas against Sven. We had played poorly up to today but unless it was the Magners kicking in we were at least good if not very good in the First half today and more than matched Portugal in every dept.
We have gone out and to my mind underachieved partly down to players partly down to management but unlike games before ( Brazil 92 & Portugall 94 )England deserved to win today and played better than Portugal. I did not see this reflected by any of the bbc team.

My request to the ±«Óãtv if anyone reads this blog. Doubt it as im just another drunk England fan in a bad mood probably, but if you can track it look at the number of people who switched to five live commentary via the red button. I hope for England and Foootball fans sake it proves how bad the performance of the all the ±«Óãtv commentary team were. If the teams job was to win the world cup then the ±«Óãtv teams job was to get behind the team whilst giving balanced opinion and insight. I think the players came alot closer to doing there job than the ±«Óãtv team ever did in this tournament.

does anyone agree with me or is it the Magners ? if its the Magners sorry Gary , super Al , Wrighty & Al. Motty and lawro can do one whatever as it was just to painful to comprehend.

p.s does anyone else think Zidane is the best player to play the game ?

Night

Well, today's results completely poo-pooh the conspiracy theorists and the idea that it was all set up for a Germany v England final.

Hoping for a Germany v France final, with Fermany to take it 3-1.

>>>I'm as gutted as everyone else

Hey - I'm not gutted at all - get a life - the world doesn't revolve around englands crap footoeteam.

>>>We played with our hearts and souls in the last 30 minutes

but the game is 90 mind - and you were crap the rest of he time! so you lost!

I said before the World Cup, that England would NOT win the World Cup under Eriksson. I don't want to " I told you so" but the writing was on the wall at the last World Cup!!
He didn't change anything when he had Brazil down to 10 men.
He has won NOTHING with England.
He's got some great players BUT he keeps changing the team ALL the time.
These are footballers NOT brain surgeons!!
They lost this before the cup even started.
Thank God, he's gone forever!!!

Did Frank Lampard do anything right in this world cup?
At least he would not have won any award for cheating. That must go to the Portugal side.
In fact the amount of cheating and conning of the ref by so many teams has been one of the real dis-appointments of this tournament.

I would be embarresed & ashamed to be one of the 6 pundits / commenatators on ±«Óãtv TV tonight i did not hear what was said after the game tonight as i had already switched To radio five live commentry by that time.
I do not believe England have played to the there potential in this tournament but at half time today i was shocked to hear lineaker , Shearer , Wright and Hansen all slate the English team. To me it came across as four blokes who can not see the wood for the trees due to personal vendettas against Sven. We had played poorly up to today but unless it was the Magners kicking in we were at least good if not very good in the First half today and more than matched Portugal in every dept.
We have gone out and to my mind underachieved partly down to players partly down to management but unlike games before ( Brazil 92 & Portugall 94 )England deserved to win today and played better than Portugal. I did not see this reflected by any of the bbc team.

My request to the ±«Óãtv if anyone reads this blog. Doubt it as im just another drunk England fan in a bad mood probably, but if you can track it look at the number of people who switched to five live commentary via the red button. I hope for England and Foootball fans sake it proves how bad the performance of the all the ±«Óãtv commentary team were. If the teams job was to win the world cup then the ±«Óãtv teams job was to get behind the team whilst giving balanced opinion and insight. I think the players came alot closer to doing there job than the ±«Óãtv team ever did in this tournament.

does anyone agree with me or is it the Magners ? if its the Magners sorry Gary , super Al , Wrighty & Al. Motty and lawro can do one whatever as it was just to painful to comprehend.

p.s does anyone else think Zidane is the best player to play the game ?

Night

First, thanks to the English fans who posted these nice comments about us hosting this championship. I personally can say that I have nothing to complain about the English fans and that they were really nice guys to have around. I think there's enough said about Erkisson and Rooney etc. Also the fact the Portugal's behaviour was a disgrace against Netherlands and also Ronaldo today didn't behave like a real sportsman. And let's not even talk about some of the Argentinies yesterday. I understand that the players are under a lot of pressure, but maybe they should learn from the fans. I saw Germans comfort Argentiniens. Same with others. It didn't matter who they were cheering for, in the end they all just had a lot of fun and a big party here and the players should adopt this attitude over their diving (Ronaldo just did the same and also got a free kick for it... didn't help them), cheating etc. So looking at the last teams left, I want Germany to win against Italy (after all I'm German ;-) and France against Portugal (way more style, fairness and also I like to see Zizu in the final). Germany - France. Would be a nice final. But no matter what, I'll just enjoy the last 4 games and continue to have fun and try to be a good host. See you guys next time...

with u there, talbs..sven haters all out of the woodwork..already the hunt for scapegoats has started..and bbc commentators to the fore in the witch hunt..england played well, only ricardo stopped them. Wheres the shame in that?

You should be glad you are out of the competition... I watched the game against paraguy in London and people were embarrassed then. When I watched England on the fanfest in Hamburg, most england fans were dressed up as Equadorians (pictures supplied on request) because they would not seen dead as England supporters.

Even Blatter, who was installed by the British, because they thought it would get them to host the WC, was disgusted by the team... Kaiser Franz had to put in a good word for them.

Get over it, get Wemberley back up (which was demolished after Germany won 1-0 and which will soon be ready for some footie games if you can deal with your australian contractors) and start again. From Scratch. It worked for some other teams...

And stop whinging...

I don't understand how people can be so negative towards the English because of our tabloids - they're only geeing us up for our side and anything other than that is just rubbish to fill space... from 'rockstar ate my hamster' to 'double decker found in the artic'. Try reading our broadsheets from time to time, granted you may go to sleep but it'll give a better estimation of what the English public really think.

and making up links is fun

hey, lets look on the bright side! Thierry Henry sure wiped that stupid grin off Ronaldinho's face! And I've been waiting some time for that. Superb french performance and over hyped Brazil are out..at last.

Ok, gutted with the outcome... but I'll get over it.

I just want to say I think the MOTD pundits at half time were an absolute disgrace. Criticising Hargreaves?! WTF?Were they watching a different game? Our best player (and the best on the pitch by a mile) by a mile. Oh I forgot Ian Wright still hasn't got over his son being selected ahead of him.

Shearer - "Rooney should 'stick one on'" Ronaldo. Inciting violence on the Beeb. Ok. Rooney was stupid, he deserved to get sent off, he knew what he was doing.

Please (sack) comment on these "pundits". They have been terrible throughout this World Cup. Just because you were once a decemnt footballer doesn't automatically mean you are any good at analysing a game...

>>>I am shocked and appalled at the dreadful job the referee did with this game.

why? because you lost - I bet there wouldn't be any complaints against the ref if your 'world calss' players could have found the net!

BTW I also bet the EBC (±«Óãtv) would have put on the news after the match if england had one!

>>>>I hope you learn your lesson - never underestimate others. You're not that good!

BUT THEY WON'T - BECAUSE THEY ARE SO BLOODY ARROGANT. ENGLAND really NEEDED TAKING DOWN A PEG. GREAT WORK PORTUGAL

@Bartholomew:

> Lampard feared. Gerrard feared.
> Beckham feared. The Englisg team
> collectively feared failure.

Too true. You could see it in their eyes.

They are bound to falter and miss as long as England and their fans mount such immense pressure on their players.

'96 it was 'Thirty years of hurt', today it was 40 years too many for your players to cope with. The lads are not responsible for prior failures.

How about approaching the next tournament in a somewhat more humble, low-key way?

i HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT FIOOTBALL SUPPORTERS - OF ANY NATIONALITY ARE - SAD PEOPLE.

andrew, you must be scots..go away and bore some other blog..ebc, don't make me laff. If scotland(ireland, wales?) has more like you, i can't wait for your independence..if only it barred you from posting here!

I don't think rooney would have been sent off if it wasn't for cristiano ronaldo man utd fans should feel ashamed that they have someone like him in their side. The English game is about fair play, not about getting teammates sent off because you are scared of their ability. Wayne Rooney was trying to regain his balance to proceed with his job, he, in my humble opinion did not intentionally stand on the portuguese player. this is ytet another insult to English football!!
no Englishman would complain about losing in a fair (Sportsman like) game but this to me was an insult to the English game.

TV pundits were dreadful today. Wright has been awful for the whole tournament but Shearer was equally bad this time. Motson and Lawrenson were tedious - I joined the crowd and swithced over to 5live (must be bad considereing how much I hate Alan Green).

Now that England are out maybe we won't have to listen to Shearer and Wright anymore and we can have the adults back on, i.e. Martin O'Neill back - please?

Sven took a boy, Theo Walcott and other football pretenders (no names here) to do a man's job. Just serves to show Sven was a poor and costly experiment for the FA. He lacks the nounce at the top level. Where was Darren Bent and Jermaine Defoe? Watching the game on their flat screen 50" plasmas well knowing their chance will no doubt come.

England were atrocious. The only decent player for us today was Hargreaves, and that was just because he kept on going. Rooney needs to take anger management classes before he pulls on an England shirt again.

The big problem is that English players are not given the chance to develop and flourish. All over the world, the EPL has the reputation of being the best league to play in, and the players come to play from all over. It summed it up when you look at the portugal side and see that Valente plays for Everton, Ronaldo for man u and Carvalho for Chelsea to name but a few. There are other countries as well that are just as well represented like France, Holland and Italy. UEFA have talked of forcing clubs to play a minimum number of home grown players in each game, and, to be honest, until this happens - and English players finally get the chance to play and improve - we are never going to win anything.

I don't think rooney would have been sent off if it wasn't for cristiano ronaldo man utd fans should feel ashamed that they have someone like him in their side. The English game is about fair play, not about getting teammates sent off because you are scared of their ability. Wayne Rooney was trying to regain his balance to proceed with his job, he, in my humble opinion did not intentionally stand on the portuguese player. this is ytet another insult to English football!!
no Englishman would complain about losing in a fair (Sportsman like) game but this to me was an insult to the English game.

>>>>andrew, you must be scots..go away and bore some other blog..ebc, don't make me laff. If scotland(ireland, wales?) has more like you, i can't wait for your independence..if only it barred you from posting here!

yeah - and we are a country - NOT a region as your EBC would have us!

Doesn't change the fact that england were crap and deserved to lose. :)

Theo Walcott... Theo who... I think Sven may have put a sizeable dent in the confidence of the young man..

I couldn´t agree with you more. I'm very happy with portuguese victory but english side was very good, specially with 10 men. Lennon went well and all other substitutes also. I believe that, in spite of a null, it was the most disputed quarter finals game. We all must say "We love football"

I think this is an opportunity for us to accept that although the Premiership is hyped up to be the best on earth, the England national team is no where near the best footballing nations of the world. Ghana played better football than England for a start, which is shocking enough.

Marketing, publiciity and misguided self belief in the guise of Top of the Pops style idolisation of players, will not mould players who can lift the world cup. Until players realise that there is a game to be played and won, and that chasing headlines and front page images is not part of the game, we shall continue to bread young players who loose their way after testng the power of money. We need players for whom money is a by product of playing the game and not those for whom playing the game is the route to money - there is a difference.

As for Rooney, whatever excuses others might put forward on his behalf, his behaviour was an utter disgrace and he deserved to be sent off. People were very quick to criticise Henry when he got a Spanish player sent off - I did not see the same reaction to Rooney's behaviour, which was much worse. And people then wonder why the likes of Rooney cannot play their best football as part of the national team. If we continue to massage the egos of people who should be chasticised, we sould not be surprised when they fail to deliver through complacency and lack of passion.

Let us hope hope that the new Coach will make decisions based on football alone rather than yielding to pressure from the Tabloids.

So many 'what ifs' and 'why?s'... the heat, the expectations, the cliff hanging frustration and the fated penalty shoot-out. But we can't turn the clock back. We can only pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down - and start all over again.

I'm reminded of Gary Lineker's memorable parting comment as England crashed out of Euro 2004 in the same manner: "At the end of the day... it grows dark."

A number of the calls in this World Cup have been suspect, but Rooney's red card isn't one of them. When he stomps on an opponent AND then angrily shoves another...ALL RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE REFEREE!!...he should expect an early trip to the locker room! Pure stupidity...

It wasn't an inspiring match from either side, but having Rooney in for the full time wouldn't have changed the outcome...not as if he had scored in the World Cup up until that point anyway. Now at least the German police can take a break with all of the English fans headed home!

When do the British start accepting, that other countries can play football too.
during this World Cup and the latest in Korea too, they proved, that they are a destructive team, who can do nothing when behind.

sorry to see England go.
At least the fans put on a great performance every time.
Hope that you will come back to Germany for more football or for vacation

well

portugal v england

i don't untherstand why england didn't play in the begining pf the match...

i don't untherstand why, after rooney send out, i saw 10 players in the defense
the good thing 4 u was that those 10 players created a wall to the portuguese squad

there is no need to mencion te ref... i don't know what is your prob with argentinian ppl but forget the ref cuz with had lucky compared to ivanov (portugal-neetherlands)

u don't have resean to behave like inocent sayind: 'we don't want ronaldo in england', 'go play to spain' and bla bla bla

in that subject i prefer to see ronaldo in manchester than in real madrid or 'circus' if u wish...

some one said that if u have scolari u would win WC, totali agree

i was expecting the victory of portugal, obviously, and i desagree that england's squad is or was better than the portuguese 1.

4 me ricardo was the man of the match

even without deco or costinha we showed our value

when i heard that fifa's president said that the final would be Germany v Brasil i saw that this WC was more than football, it was influences...

but for my surprise, and fifa's president i'm sure, brasil lost!
he will have to change his plans! xD

to finish
i agree with coments of Ana, Raquel and Fabian

GO PORTUGAL

England needed to play to win the game in regulation time. If that meant playing Crouch and Rooney together,so be it. I would rather lose trying, than win on penalties.
Surely video footage should be used to penalise players after the game,(not that it would effect the outcome of that game) but would have an effect on games after and hopefully the spirit of the game forever.

I hope we dont suffer the same fate in 5 years from mclaren.Its time for achange.Goodbye Beckham; neville;carragher;crouch and hopefully 5-4-1 what alame way to leave ...I wonder if wayne will be rooming with ronaldo next season!!! the word naive comes to mind.We need a group of players who will adapt and learn from the world stage. If we had won on penalties who would have led the line against France?The weakness in this squad was cruelly exposed.Hargreaves was brilliant and deserves a run in the side.10 for effort. Gerrard ;cole j and a;and Lampard will learn from the experience and maybe next time they will have a break before the tournament begins. Leave the wives and girlfriends behind.winning takes sacrifice . Ask germany---Jurgen flew all the way from LA to lift the cup. Put your mortgage on it!!!

Sorry folks, but if you thought Sven was bad you've got Steve McClaren to look forward to.
I'm a Scot, and I wanted England to win. I get sick of reading your hype only to see you bottle it, and rivalries aside, you are British.
Here are a few facts:

1) You had no midfield playmaker. Beckham is supposed to perform this role out wide, and he was in poor form throughout. Personally, I would find a way to put Carrick AND Hargreaves in the team. Lennon is also V. good. Beckham has to show some hunger now to retain his place.

2)You made a big error not taking a couple of form forwards. Today, when down to 10 men, you really needed somebody with pace to hit the Portuguese on the break. The one man with pace, Walcott, was never going to get on, so instead of pace, you had P. Crouch (OK player, but not what you wanted today.......)

3) It's dissapointing, but Portugal are no world beaters. The Portuguese players have loads of skill but lack athleticism, physique and aggression compared to the other semi-finalists. These are qualities England, on the other hand, have plenty of (Mssr Rooney perhaps even a little too much?). Look at the way France played today for a lesson in how dangerous those things can be when put in a proper system, and applied with a bit of arrogance.

4) Your players play like they're under pressure, so can I suggest that in 2 years (assuming you make the euros) you calm the hype down a bit. Your players will then be full of quiet confidence in their own abilities, rather than knee weakening press spun expectation, and you'll also look less stupid if something goes wrong. Look at Germany, or even France... playing like they don't care, and playing in the knowledge that, on their day, they can beat anyone. England, by contrast, looked beaten before taking the field. We learned this lesson in Scotland in 1978...... It's just a shame we haven't had a good team since then...

5) Less hype may also have the added "benefit" of endearing you to us Scots. It's possible so don't knock it. The odds are about the same as those on England actually winning something as opposed to just saying they will.

6) Germany to win.

Andrew, you're a region not a country..ever hear about the act of union? anyway its not the point which is that miserable people like you (disgrace even to the scots?) will jump at any chance to have a go at england especially tonight when we are all suffering from a bad result to a good game. Its called kicking someone when they're down and, not even being English (S.African by the way and we DO have an ambassador at the UN) i find it despicable and totally lacking in integrity what you do. I reiterate, go and find a blog of your own and stop bothering people who are having a difficult time.

here we go again, at least they played with guts 10 men all. Swen goodbye, you had 'nt a clue, what 's name go back to real madrid, Lennon showed him how, he is finnished The best man on the for England Hargreves by far.
You have to put the ball in the net to win it is so simple
The best you have played, thanks guys, We will still suport you next time with a bit of luck.
Red & White for ever.

By the way - I know the Scots have been criticised for their one eyed insistence on supporting the team playing England, but not a single English TV pundit thought Germany would beat Argentina yesterday.
Personally, my money was on Germany. What it shows is the very damaging one-eyed arrogance that afflicts English sport, especially football. Apart from the fact that it annoys the Scots, it has a second more damaging effect.
You totally overburden your teams with expectation. You also come across as very dismissive of your opponents so they all have extra motive to beat you - the cry before the world cup was "Germany offer nothing" and that only Brazil offered any threat to England's procession to the trophy. Everybody seemed to forget that a less talented German team than the current one reached the final 4 years ago away from home, having been beaten 5-1 at home by England the previous year.
My advice to you would be look at the Germans, because you have a similar playing ethos to them (athleticism takes precedence over pure technical skill, not giving up etc.). But also look at the way they don't hype themselves. They know how good they are, they don't need to boast.

It's better to lie in wait and ambush your quarry, rather than let it know you're chasing it....

Then, once you've taken a leaf out of the German PR book, look at the way they direct everything through Ballack, and for Ballack read Carrick. You'll be half decent then.

Sven had a plan ??
DO NOT LET THE OTHER TEAM SCORE ??
England never looked like scoring and even Rooney at his best would always struggle on his own up front.
Crouch proved in the second half, as did Lennon that they should have started in a 4-4-2 formation.
Negative tactics deserve negative results, and we have seen it for far too long from England.
Get a manager like Scolari or Klinsman who have both never lost a World Cup match and play with passion and belief.

Soccer is a giant organism. In order to be perennial winners you must hit it in every cylinders.

Unfortunately, us the fans, we are only privilged so see what is happening on the field and the sidelines. However, there must be more then just the pitch and the sideline to be a winner in Soccer.

When was the last time England won a cup in under 17, under 19, under 21 or the Olympic games?

You have a phenomenal league. I am paying hundreds of dollars and waking up at 6 am in the morning on the weekends to watch Premiership games in my living room in Houston, Texas.

Please think about the recent and very succesful Premiership teams. Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea. Who are managing these teams? Did Arsenal play a Premiership game with 11 non-British starters?

It is sad to see that a nation who gave birth soccer (Football as you call it) cannot produce an international winner youth team or produce a Technical Director who can manage a Champions League winner team or even manage England's team.

I think as a nation you should look at other aspects of the game instead of the "missed penalty kicks" and applaud Sven G. for at least taking a 17 year old to the tournament.