England crash out on penalties
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England's World Cup adventure ended in gallant failure yet again as they crashed out on penalties to Portugal after neither side had found the net in normal or extra time in their quarter final in Gelsenkirchen.
An absorbing if unspectacular contest jolted uneasily to life on the hour mark as Wayne Rooney was shown a red card following what the referee adjudged to be a stamp on Ricardo Carvalho.
England's efforts subsequently, and inevitably, became something of a rearguard action, but they showed commendable spirit and perhaps even more adventure than they had when with their full compliment.
In the end, though, it was not to be as spot-kicks again proved the side's Achilles heel - Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher all failed in the shoot-out and it was left to Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo to strike the killer blow as he sent Paul Robinson the wrong way to seal a 3-1 triumph.
In truth, England again failed to produce the kind of convincing display that so many had demanded, but it was, nonetheless, a cruel exit and disappointing way for Sven Goran Eriksson to sign off as England coach.
The Swede's men had started brightly and a nervous early slip from Carvalho allowed Rooney a shooting chance inside a minute, but he could get no real power on his effort and saw it easily blocked.
He did catch hold of a shot from range shortly afterwards and while it was comfortably gathered by Ricardo it must have been an encouraging sight for England fans to see both Lampard and Joe Cole bombing on beyond the Manchester United forward.
At the other end the lively Ronaldo fired a warning shot after Lampard had cheaply conceded possession in midfield, but Robinson was not seriously tested.
England's first nervy moment arrived on 12 minutes when a Luis Figo free-kick from the right caused havoc in the box and, after bouncing off Gary Neville, looked to have fallen ideally for Tiago, but a poor first touch allowed Paul Robinson to dive on the ball and England escaped.
A set-piece, this time a Neville long-throw, caused similar confusion in the Portuguese defence and after neat touches from David Beckham and Rooney, Lampard pulled back an inviting cross that Miguel was happy to clear.
A terrific curling ball from Gerrard again found Lampard as England's furthest man forward on 20 minutes, but a first goal of the tournament continued to elude his midfield partner who could not snake out a leg to get contact.
With the half hour approaching a thundering aerial challenge from Terry left Tiago, and the Chelsea man himself, in a crumpled heap on the floor, and when Terry rose he was greeted by the less than welcome sight of another yellow card which would have ruled him out of any semi-final showdown.
As the minutes ticked by so the ambition of both sides dwindled with goalmouth action, let alone chances, increasingly at a premium.
Lampard continued his pursuit of a first goal with a well-struck drive following a delightful change of feet by Joe Cole, but the half drew to a close with both teams with more weight on the back foot than the front.
Beckham saw his afternoon come to a premature end on 50 minutes after limping out of a challenge with Everton's Nuno Valente, although the enforced introduction of Aaron Lennon brought an injection of pace and trickery England's right-flank had craved.
Almost immediately the Tottenham wide-man showed just what he could bring to the party after skipping past Valente and Carvalho on his way into the box.
On losing control the ball rolled kindly for Rooney and while his mis-kick seemed inopportune it inadvertently provided the perfect pass for Joe Cole who contrived to blaze over from ten yards.
The game then exploded into life in controversial circumstances on the hour mark when Rooney received his marching orders for, what replays showed, was an ugly stamp on the prone Carvalho.
Down to ten, Eriksson reacted by hauling off Joe Cole and replacing him with Peter Crouch as, rather inevitably, the Portuguese began to dominate both possession and territory.
However, despite their numerical inferiority, it was England who fashioned the two best chances of the closing stages, the first coming after Lennon had won a somewhat dubious free-kick 25 yards from goal.
With Beckham looking on ashen-faced from the sidelines, Lampard strode up to take on set-piece duties and his stinging effort was unconvincingly parried by Ricardo, but Lennon could get no power on the rebound and the keeper recovered to make a comfortable second save.
In a rousing finale, the impressive Hargreaves - arguably England's stand-out performer - produced a lung-bursting charge to the by-line - his pull-back was just taken away from Lampard by a brave Carvalho challenge but Terry spun and saw his effort deflected over by another desperate challenge with the final whistle ushering in extra time shortly afterwards.
To their credit England were every inch the equal of the opponents in added time. Indeed, it required a superb last-ditch header from Miguel to deny Crouch as he looked favourite to nod in Gerrard's sublime chipped cross.
Portugal carried a threat of their own with Ronaldo's pace and trickery a seemingly never-ending threat, but the Manchester United starlet could not quite find the end product to match his approach play.
England hearts were in mouths two minutes into the second period of extra time when substitute Helder Postiga floated a header past Robinson and into the corner of the net, but a linesman's flag came to their rescue and ensured the almost inevitable conundrum of penalties was to become a reality.
An absorbing if unspectacular contest jolted uneasily to life on the hour mark as Wayne Rooney was shown a red card following what the referee adjudged to be a stamp on Ricardo Carvalho.
England's efforts subsequently, and inevitably, became something of a rearguard action, but they showed commendable spirit and perhaps even more adventure than they had when with their full compliment.
In the end, though, it was not to be as spot-kicks again proved the side's Achilles heel - Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher all failed in the shoot-out and it was left to Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo to strike the killer blow as he sent Paul Robinson the wrong way to seal a 3-1 triumph.
In truth, England again failed to produce the kind of convincing display that so many had demanded, but it was, nonetheless, a cruel exit and disappointing way for Sven Goran Eriksson to sign off as England coach.
The Swede's men had started brightly and a nervous early slip from Carvalho allowed Rooney a shooting chance inside a minute, but he could get no real power on his effort and saw it easily blocked.
He did catch hold of a shot from range shortly afterwards and while it was comfortably gathered by Ricardo it must have been an encouraging sight for England fans to see both Lampard and Joe Cole bombing on beyond the Manchester United forward.
At the other end the lively Ronaldo fired a warning shot after Lampard had cheaply conceded possession in midfield, but Robinson was not seriously tested.
England's first nervy moment arrived on 12 minutes when a Luis Figo free-kick from the right caused havoc in the box and, after bouncing off Gary Neville, looked to have fallen ideally for Tiago, but a poor first touch allowed Paul Robinson to dive on the ball and England escaped.
A set-piece, this time a Neville long-throw, caused similar confusion in the Portuguese defence and after neat touches from David Beckham and Rooney, Lampard pulled back an inviting cross that Miguel was happy to clear.
A terrific curling ball from Gerrard again found Lampard as England's furthest man forward on 20 minutes, but a first goal of the tournament continued to elude his midfield partner who could not snake out a leg to get contact.
With the half hour approaching a thundering aerial challenge from Terry left Tiago, and the Chelsea man himself, in a crumpled heap on the floor, and when Terry rose he was greeted by the less than welcome sight of another yellow card which would have ruled him out of any semi-final showdown.
As the minutes ticked by so the ambition of both sides dwindled with goalmouth action, let alone chances, increasingly at a premium.
Lampard continued his pursuit of a first goal with a well-struck drive following a delightful change of feet by Joe Cole, but the half drew to a close with both teams with more weight on the back foot than the front.
Beckham saw his afternoon come to a premature end on 50 minutes after limping out of a challenge with Everton's Nuno Valente, although the enforced introduction of Aaron Lennon brought an injection of pace and trickery England's right-flank had craved.
Almost immediately the Tottenham wide-man showed just what he could bring to the party after skipping past Valente and Carvalho on his way into the box.
On losing control the ball rolled kindly for Rooney and while his mis-kick seemed inopportune it inadvertently provided the perfect pass for Joe Cole who contrived to blaze over from ten yards.
The game then exploded into life in controversial circumstances on the hour mark when Rooney received his marching orders for, what replays showed, was an ugly stamp on the prone Carvalho.
Down to ten, Eriksson reacted by hauling off Joe Cole and replacing him with Peter Crouch as, rather inevitably, the Portuguese began to dominate both possession and territory.
However, despite their numerical inferiority, it was England who fashioned the two best chances of the closing stages, the first coming after Lennon had won a somewhat dubious free-kick 25 yards from goal.
With Beckham looking on ashen-faced from the sidelines, Lampard strode up to take on set-piece duties and his stinging effort was unconvincingly parried by Ricardo, but Lennon could get no power on the rebound and the keeper recovered to make a comfortable second save.
In a rousing finale, the impressive Hargreaves - arguably England's stand-out performer - produced a lung-bursting charge to the by-line - his pull-back was just taken away from Lampard by a brave Carvalho challenge but Terry spun and saw his effort deflected over by another desperate challenge with the final whistle ushering in extra time shortly afterwards.
To their credit England were every inch the equal of the opponents in added time. Indeed, it required a superb last-ditch header from Miguel to deny Crouch as he looked favourite to nod in Gerrard's sublime chipped cross.
Portugal carried a threat of their own with Ronaldo's pace and trickery a seemingly never-ending threat, but the Manchester United starlet could not quite find the end product to match his approach play.
England hearts were in mouths two minutes into the second period of extra time when substitute Helder Postiga floated a header past Robinson and into the corner of the net, but a linesman's flag came to their rescue and ensured the almost inevitable conundrum of penalties was to become a reality.
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