Lucky Portugal struggled into the 2006 World Cup top four after
ousting England 3-1 on penalty shootout, while France stunned the
world by eliminating Brazil on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo sealed Portugal's semifinal berth by striking
into the right corner in the penalty shootout, after the English
lost David Beckham to a leg injury and Wayne Rooney to a red
card.?
"I'm full of confidence and I shoot strong. I was tired in the
second half but I haven't played for a week so it was OK," said the
Manchester United star proudly.
An amazing night witnessed five shootout missed. Frank Lampard,
Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher missed to end their hopes and
Sven-Goran Eriksson's reign, while Petit and Hugo Viana put
Portugal in danger after missing the target.
"We practised penalties so much, I really don't know what more
we could do about it. I was sure these players could get to the
final and we should have done it," said heart-broken Eriksson.
The Man-United forward wrestled for the ball with Ricardo
Carvalho on the halfway line and stamped on the defender's crotch
in the 62rd minute.
Argentina referee Horacio Elizondo showed the first red card of
the match and sent Rooney off.
"We started the second half very well and controlled the game
exactly what we wanted to do. Then there was the sending off. We
held the game up very well and lost on penalties again and I'm
really sorry about that," said Eriksson.
However, Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari did not think they
got advantage over England after Rooney's sending off.
Scolari said: "We didn't take advantage, we shot too much from
outside the area. England closed the way to goal very well and it
was like playing against 11."
England dominated the first 20 minutes as Frank Lampard almost
broke the tie in the 12th minute.
Rooney played a tight pass to Lampard in the area and the
Chelsea man pulled back from the right to find the ball denied by
Portugal goalkeeper Ricardo.
Portugal got the chance six minutes later when Luis Figo's
free-kick turned England's defence into a mess.
Both sides got chances in the second half as Peter Crouch only
just failed to get the ball to a teammate in the Portuguese area
and Simon had a shot saved by Paul Robinson in the
counter-attack.?
Eriksson was forced to change things six minutes into the second
half with David Beckham struggling with an ankle problem.
Beckham almost won a penalty with his last contribution of the
game, and probably his chances of winning a World Cup when his
cross hit the hand of Nuno Valente but England's appeal came to
nothing.
He was replaced by Aaron Lennon and was seen on the sidelines
looking anguished as treatment was performed on his ankle.
England's best chance to score a goal was a set-piece and
Lampard fired in a free-kick that Ricardo did well to keep out,
with Lennon scuffing his attempt to put in the rebound.
"We gave a good performance but we're out and that's very
painful. I'm sorry for the fans, who have been fantastic, we couldn
't give them a final," said Eriksson.
Portugal almost sealed a win in the second extra-time when
Postiga headed home, but the goal was denied by referee Horacio
Elizondo who saw the off-side clearly.
In Frankfurt, former World Cup champions France stunned the
world after eliminating five-time title winners Brazil with a 1-0
victory in their quarter-final encounter.
Parreira took the responsibility, saying "I would like to thank
the players. I didn't do my job as my job was to get to the
final."
(Xinhua News Agency July 3, 2006)