but that didn’t lose england the game. even with 10 men they repeatedly broke up the portugese attack and sent the ball forward. but there was never anyone up front. crouch was eventually reduced to laying the ball off to himself. what lost england the game was trying to defend the goal, rather than trying to score the goal. with 4 in back and a keeper, everyone else could have been sent forward, on the reasonable grounds that risking losing by one goal is the price paid for risking winning by a goal. instead they played for penalties, when they could have played for a win.

It is? OK then I won’t.

Hopefully McClaren will be a bit different.

And Lampard obviously hasn’t had his shooting boots all tournament. I’d have dropped him for Crouch from the start.

Perhaps England made up for the lack of quality in its attack with a certain amount of quantity – particularly late in the game after Portugal looked desperately fatigued. But they appear to lack explosive playmakers and finishers, and despite some fairly consistent pressure around the goal, the Portuguese defenders seemed to have the English locked up pretty well throughout the game.

I suppose its still an after-effect of his injury, but before Rooney went off, he still looked a bit slow and clumsy to me. England’s best option was to keep putting the ball in the vicinity of Crouch’s head, and hope something good would happen. They also relied a bit too much, I thought, on long throw-ins.

I do give England a lot of credit for its play in the back. Pauleta was no factor before he went off. They were helped in that by several ill-advised long attempts from Maniche that prematurely aborted some promising Portuguese posessions.

Beckham was fairly invisible until he went off. Losing him actually seemed to help the English a bit – although in a 0-0 game who knows what might have happened if Beckham had been there for some set pieces in the second half.

I thought Miguel was immense for Portugal, controlling his side of the field at both ends and displaying amazing stamina – although his service left something to be desired.

I’m sure Rooney wasn’t sent off for the kick to the nuts—which was accidental—but rather for the shove, and Ronaldo played for that disgracefully. England with 10 were the better team over the 90 and Hargreaves was motm. But that’s football. I’m just disappointed that an England team that were great on paper weren’t on grass.