The European Championships two years prior to the 2006 World Cup saw Portugal send England home via a penalty shoot-out, and that history repeated itself in this quarter-final meeting – the third time that boss Sven-Goran Eriksson had been defeated by Brazilian boss Luis Felipe Scolari. England could consider themselves unlucky in 2004 but here, they largely had themselves to blame.
Starting in the same 4-5-1 formation they’d used against Ecuador, the first half saw England fail to create a lot in what was a poor, cagey game. Early in the second half captain David Beckham was withdrawn due to an ankle injury, but shortly after his replacement Aaron Lennon was introduced, England’s odds became much longer when Wayne Rooney was controversially sent off for a supposed stamp on Ricardo Carvalho.
Whether the incident warranted a red card is still a point of contention, but it meant that with 10 men, England were forced to play with their backs to the wall for the remainder of the game. Holding midfielder Owen Hargreaves put on probably his best ever display for England to keep Portugal largely quiet, but in the end, it was the same old story from the penalty spot.
In a poor shoot-out from both sides, for once England’s opponents missed two kicks – Hugo Viana firing wide and Petit seeing his effort saved by Paul Robinson. But Portuguese keeper Ricardo saved both Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard’s kicks, and then substitute Jamie Carragher missed his, allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to score to send England home.
It was a dark ending to what had been a poor tournament overall for England, who really showed the first signs of the crippling “fear” that fans dread to see today.