England v Portugal

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England V. Portugal

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Portugal 0, England 0 (4 -1 penalties)

Portugal triumph in the penalty shoot-out that crowned an epic battle, which saw English bulldog Wayne Rooney sent off for shoving Cristiano Ronaldo and apparently kicking Ricardo Carvalho in the balls, and David Beckham weeping and injured at the side of the field. 

Even with only 10 men, England were able to keep Portugal out of goal throughout the half hour of extra time.  What they weren't able to do, unfortunately, was get the ball in the back of the net.  Aaron Lennon replaced Beckham and brought a bit of much-needed pace, Hargreaves had his best match of the tournament, and Peter "Crouching Tiger" Crouch showed he could be tall and enthusiastic.  But the goal drought persisted even in the shoot-out, with terrible misses from Lampard and Gerrard. 

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo looked gleeful after Rooney got his red card, and it will be interesting to see how the teammates get along at Manchester United in the next English Premiership season.  Nevertheless, he ended the game a hero for his home country, scoring the final decisive penalty that took Portugal the semis.        

Bye bye England, bye bye Sven Goran Eriksson.