The Hindu : Front Page : Portugal clinches penalty shoot-out

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jul 02, 2006

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Portugal clinches penalty shoot-out

GELSENKIRCHEN: Ten-man England was sent crashing out of the World Cup here on Saturday, when it lost a penalty shoot-out to Portugal after a controversy-packed quarter-final battle.

Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo scored the decisive spot-kick to hand Portugal a 3-1 shoot-out victory and shatter England's dream.

England's players were left shell-shocked as Portugal celebrated in the AufSchalke arena.

Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher all saw their penalties saved by Portugal keeper Ricardo, while Simao and substitute Helder Postiga netted Portugal's other penalties. Owen Hargreaves was the lone scorer for England.

England went into the crucial phase without captain David Beckham and striker Wayne Rooney. Beckham was taken off in the 52nd minute with what appeared an injured leg, and Rooney was ejected in the 62nd minute after getting tangled up with a Portuguese player and then pushing Ronaldo just a few steps from Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo.

HE KEPT HIS NERVE: Under the pressure of expectations, Cristiano Ronaldo sends England goalkeeper Paul Robinson the wrong way for the decisive strike in Portugal's 3-1 victory in the penalty shoot-out that broke a 0-0 deadlock at Gelsenkirchen on Sat urday. Portugal has entered the World Cup semi-finals. — Photo: AP

Nuno Valente appeared to step on Beckham's right ankle during a challenge. Beckham tried to play on but was seen hobbling. After he was replaced by Aaron Lennon, Beckham sat on the bench his head bent over covered by hands, and he appeared to be in tears. It was the third time in three tournaments that England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson saw his side beaten by a team coached by Brazilian World Cup winner Luiz Felipe Scolari.

After a relatively incident-free first half, the match exploded into life in the opening 15 minutes of the second period, with legitimate English claims for a penalty turned down, captain Beckham substituted and Rooney sent off.

Earlier, Gary Neville, restored as right back, and Owen Hargreaves, moving to the midfield holding role, started brightly as England aimed to reach its first World Cup semi-final in 16 years. Rooney tested Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo with a rasping half-volley in the ninth minute, while at the other end Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo rifled a shot towards Paul Robinson that was well-blocked.

The best chance fell to Tiago who just failed to get a shot in from a close range after Neville failed to clear a teasing free-kick by Portugal's captain Luis Figo.

England defender John Terry and Portuguese midfielder Petit were booked. Petit will miss the semi-final. — Agencies

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