England collapse when put on the spot

Over the past couple of weeks Eriksson has told us how good life was for him in Lisbon, where he won three Portuguese titles with Benfica, established a global reputation as a coach and still owns a house. But last night it was the city in which his luck finally ran out.

He's had his fair share of good fortune as England manager, but on a tumultuous, epic evening fate, the referee, injury, a Spurs misfit and even the pitch conspired against him.

No wonder he was so upset! "It's a pity and I feel sad for the players and the fans, who have behaved so well," he said. "It's hard to lose that way having been one goal ahead. I really believed we would reach the semi-final or even the final. I think we created as many chances as Portugal and with a little luck could have been two goals ahead at half-time.

"But, in the end, they were better than us at scoring penalties. It's a skill, but it's also a lottery. We are out and we have to accept it."

When asked if Beckham accepted the responsibility after missing with England's first penalty, the Swedish coach replied: "I have talked to the squad, of course, in the dressing room after the game and he might be blaming himself but football is like that, especially when you go to penalty shoot-outs.

"I think he slipped with his foot once again, unfortunately."

The England captain gestured angrily at the pitch after his miss and clearly felt the area around the penalty spot had been an influence.

"Twice before both games at this stadium we complained about the penalty spots," explained Eriksson. "I complained personally to the UEFA official responsible and then yesterday for a second time we talked about it again to UEFA and they said they would replace some of the grass."

The fact is, of course, the Portuguese didn't seem troubled by any deficiency in the pitch and their goalkeeper Ricardo, having saved Vassell's shot, was confident enough to then strike the penalty that gave them a 6-5 win.

It may never have reached penalties had Wayne Rooney not been forced from the field with a broken bone in his right foot after 27 minutes. He may be only 18 but England clearly missed his muscular presence.

"It's a pity he was injured," said Eriksson. "But I can't say we would have won had he been on the pitch. I don't want to use that as an excuse."

But the absence of Rooney allowed his marker, Costinha, to be taken off by Luis Felipe Scolari midway through the second half and replaced with Sabrosa Simao, who moved to an attacking position wide on the left and immediately began to change the pattern of the game.

England, leading through Michael Owen's crisply struck shot in the third minute, had defended with great success and fortitude until seven minutes from time. Simao crossed from the left and Helder Postiga, the £ 8million striker who scored just twice in 13 starts for Spurs last season, rose above the statuesque John Terry to head the equaliser.

To be fair, Terry and Arsenal's Sol Campbell had produced a succession of tackles, blocks and interceptions that looked sufficient to frustrate the Portuguese. Ashley Cole and Gary Neville performed stoically in the wide positions and, although the prancing Cristiano Ronaldo had his moments, mighty Luis Figo was eventually replaced by Postiga and left the field in a sulk.

England never quite got to grips with Portugal's superior passing game, and the constant chasing to regain possession took its toll. Steve Gerrard and Paul Scholes were both substituted - a move Eriksson was to regret later when drawing up his list of penalty-takers.

Revitalised by their late equaliser and perhaps recalling their successful fight back against England at Euro 2000, the Portuguese took the initiative in extra time.

When another of their substitutes, Rui Costa, drove the ball past David James in the 110th minute I was reminded of the tactical success Scolari, as manager of Brazil, enjoyed against Eriksson in the World Cup two years ago.

Five minutes later, in a compelling climax to a memorable match, Terry headed a corner to the feet of the industrious Frank Lampard who swivelled and shot home from close range.

England's vast band of followers roared their approval. The Portuguese were stunned into silence.

They shouldn't have worried. Swiss referee Urs Meier mysteriously disallowed a Campbell goal in the dying seconds, so when he blew the final whistle I knew the game was up.

Penalty shoot-outs and England are as compatible as garlic and vampires!

In the end there was no disgrace in losing gallantly to the home nation.

Ignore all the tabloid hype because finishing in the top eight is about right for England.

There must be question marks over the fitness and status of Beckham, who had a very poor tournament, and I still await a really influential tournament performance from Scholes or Owen - though Rooney is clearly the one big plus for Eriksson.

This team can still get better and, hopefully, will do so in time for the World Cup in 2006.

"Yes, I'm going to stay because we have to try to qualify for the World Cup," said Eriksson. "But I want to do better than just play in the quarter-finals next time."