England leave worst till last

Mark Lawrenson Soccer analystA remarkable evening, maybe not for the quality of football but for the sheer theatre of the occasion. Penalties dispense rough justice and England suffered the thin edge of the wedge for a fourth time in that format in a major competition. No team really deserved to lose on the night but England will reflect, much like Germany, Spain and Italy before them that unless you play close to your best in this competition then you're vulnerable.

You have to give credit to Portugal; it was a big, big win for a side whose place in the tournament was compromised by their opening-game defeat to Greece. They recovered and last night produced arguably their best performance when it mattered.

England, like any side that loses in that fashion, will reflect on what might have been and on the folly of trying to protect a lead.

They were handed the perfect start with the goal after just three minutes.

They benefited from a terrible piece of defending but it was a superb finish from Michael Owen. I don't think there is anyone else in the competition who would have scored that goal. He looked as sharp as a tack all night and was easily England's best player.

But from the moment Wayne Rooney went off, or perhaps more accurately very soon after, England decided they were going to try to defend what they had. They can't do that, they don't have the mentality, and once they ceded the momentum in the game they were skating on thin ice.

The patterns that had proved so successful in previous games were suddenly abandoned. Rooney's injury was a significant loss but they still should have been able to play a similar game. They withdrew Owen into the holding role but he lacked the support.

Owen had about four chances in the first half and looked dangerous any time he was provided with decent possession but the passes dried up long before the interval. In the second half he basically didn't get a kick.

England lost the belief in the football that had got them to this stage. They didn't press the ball carrier, they weren't holding onto possession and putting together the passes; tactically they got it wrong in that respect.

The more they played in their own half the more it appeared they were an accident waiting to happen.

England looked a jaded team last night. The midfield in particular was leaden-legged and struggled to close down the space. This allowed Portugal to build and to pin them back, using their wingers to hem their opponents in. The more that the Portuguese pressed, the farther England dropped back towards their own goal.

Portugal had an extra day to prepare for this game but even that doesn't explain the discrepancy between the two sides. England finally paid the penalty when they allowed Helder Postiga a free header six yards from goal. They didn't close down the cross and the striker ghosted between two defenders.

In fairness to England they somehow managed to drag one final opportunity and the decision to disallow Sol Campbell's goal looked dubious and had echoes of the World Cup game against Argentina in 1998; coincidentally, the same England player was unlucky on that occasion as well.

In extra time it was real backs-to-the-wall and a question of just trying to get a block in as Portugal poured forward. Having negotiated the first period England required a bit of luck to keep their goal intact but that was denied them when Rui Costa brushed aside Phil Neville and lashed the ball in off the underside.

Amazingly England hauled themselves off the floor through Frank Lampard. But the penalty competition once again came back to haunt English football.