Portugal 0 England 0 (aet) (Portugal won 3-1 on penalties) (July 1, 2006)
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0 votes 
0 commentsFIFA World Cup 2006
Quarter Finals
England had Wayne Rooney sent off and crashed out of the World Cup after a penalty shoot-out defeat to Portugal in Gelsenkirchen.
Rooney was sent off for a flash of temper in the second half, leaving his 10 team-mates to battle through 120 minutes.
They did it heroically but crumbled once again when it came to penalties. Only Owen Hargreaves found the net out of four England players and Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner.
Luiz Felipe Scolari completed his hat-trick over Sven-Goran Eriksson and the Swede's dreams are left in tatters.
Portugal move onto a semi-final in Munich on Wednesday, England come home and Eriksson hands the reins to Steve McClaren.
England players were in tears as they wondered what might have been if they had not lost Rooney in a 62nd-minute tussle with Ricardo Carvalho and Ronaldo.
Rooney and Ronaldo are supposed to be friends - they shared a joke before the game in the tunnel. But there was nothing friendly about the way Manchester United's Portuguese winger got his club-mate sent off.
Rooney was battling to keep possession from three Portugal defenders when he raked his studs across the leg of Carvalho, who was on the floor trying to win the ball.
The Chelsea defender over-reacted and Ronaldo sprinted to the referee, apparently to demand a red card. Rooney turned to his Red Devils team-mate and pushed him away. Referee Horatio Elizondo then reached for the red card and sent Rooney off.
Elizondo, from Argentina, sent Beckham off in the World Club Championships in 1999.
Ronaldo instantly became the target of abuse for the thousands of England fans packed inside the AufSchalke Stadium. He was jeered for his dramatic dive to win a free-kick under pressure from Ashley Cole a few minutes later.
Beckham, off the pitch injured, hobbled to the touchline to make his feelings known.
The Rooney red had many similarities to his own sending-off in France '98, for a split-second of indiscipline against Argentina.
Aaron Lennon was on and looking sharp but Eriksson had to reshuffle after the red card. Joe Cole made way for Peter Crouch, who went up front on his own, and Gerrard moved to the left of midfield.
Lennon had a sharp chance to win it for England in the 83rd minute when keeper Ricardo failed to hold a stinging free-kick from Frank Lampard.
The rebound fell straight to the Tottenham teenager and he hit the target with a left-foot shot. But it lacked power and Ricardo was able to recover in time to save it.
Portugal made their extra man show in the closing minutes, pushing England back. Paul Robinson made an brilliant fingertip save from Luis Figo in the 79th minute and Rio Ferdinand made a crucial saving tackle to halt Nuno Valente's run at goal.
Robinson, dubbed a weak link by the Portuguese in the run-up to the game, made good saves from Hugo Viana and Maniche as the 90 minutes ticked away.
Terry went close to snatching a dramatic winner in stoppage time at the end of normal time. His effort was deflected over by Viana and the game went into extra-time.
Terry's booking came on the half-hour and it was harsh. The Chelsea skipper made a strong aerial challenge to beat Tiago to the ball.
Both players landed in a heap and needed treatment but referee Elizondo showed a yellow card to the England defender. Terry picked himself up and battled on bravely.
England had started the game much more positively than any of their previous four in the competition.
Hargreaves was outstanding in front of the back-four and both Lampard and Rooney forced saves from Ricardo in the first half.
England lost Beckham, seven minutes into the second half. He fell awkwardly after a heavy challenge and, despite trying to continue, was forced off. The England skipper sat in tears on the bench as Lennon made an instant impact.
He jinked his way into the penalty area on one run and, when Rooney miskicked, Joe Cole fired narrowly over.
A wonderful chance dropped to Lampard but he miscued it horribly and it bounced into the turf and then over. Moments later, Rooney was off and the game totally changed.
England's 10 men dug in and showed real courage to take it into extra-time but were still able to create chances as a breathless game pulsed with excitement.
Eight minutes into extra-time and Miguel made a brilliant clearance to stop Crouch nodding a Gerrard cross into the net.
Robinson saved a skimming shot from Simao and Ronaldo flashed a 25-yarder just over the bar.
England appealed for a penalty when Valente tackled Lennon in the 106th minute but the Everton defender took the ball and the referee was correct not to point to the spot.
Helder Postiga, who scored a late equaliser when the teams met in Euro 2004, had the ball in the England net but it was rightly ruled out for offside.
Eriksson settled for penalties and sent on Jamie Carragher to take one. But England's best chance of winning the World Cup in 40 years disappeared, somewhat predictably, as Lampard, Gerrard and Carragher missed penalties.
Date
July 1, 2006
