Beckham's dismissal the key

Argentina and England gave us the best match of the tournament last night. It would be a surprise if any of the remaining games surpass it terms of quality, drama and intrigue.

The tone and rhythm of the match hinged on the dismissal of David Beckham. For the retaliative flick, he deserved a yellow at worst but possibly he said something to the referee because as soon as he approached the England player, the red came right out. It was saddening to see the tone of a genuinely brilliant encounter so utterly changed by a referee's decision.

From David Beckham's perspective, I feel it is imperative that Glen Hoddle and Alex Ferguson protect him now because he is certain to be castigated by elements of the press. People may have been surprised at his action but he can be a little impetuous and the important thing is that he learns from it, painful as that may be, and moves on.

Of course, his absence forced the English to alter their game plan completely.

Let's go back to the opening sequence. For the first 10 minutes, Argentina were completely absorbing, breathtaking in their team control, the imagination behind the passing and the interchange between players. Almeyda, Simeone, Veron and Ayala seemed to move the ball at will and you cannot over-emphasise the importance of Ortega's influence on this team.

Once Argentina went 1-0 up, it was vital for England to reply relatively quickly and they did show character in creating the chance. I have strong misgivings about both penalty decisions. Regarding Seaman's foul, well, David had no real business in attempting to collect the ball and he invited the referee to blow. There may have been an element of contact but it was a situation which Simeone could develop.

Similarly, there was scant if any contact with Owen but maybe that decision evened things up. So not only had England survived an initIal period of adjustment to the fluency of the Argentinian style, they also recovered a goal and Owen's burst of inspiration really set them up.

His strike was certainly the goal of the tournament for me. Perhaps the Argentinian defenders were tentative, having conceded a penalty to him just beforehand but basically, he just has a terrifying turn of pace. When you consider his age, the scale of the match and the finish, which was jsut sublime, it really is difficult to see the shot being bettered.

England really looked comfortable after that, defending well and breaking forward and perhaps should have went into the halftime break still holding the goal advantage. But it was a clever free and really left things perfectly poised at the break, from a neutral perspective.

Actually, before the match, a few of us had a quick poll to predict the result and I did happen to shout for Argentina on penalties. Just luck, I suppose. But I couldn't have envisaged how things would transpire. Everyone anticipated an equally open second half.

But once they were down to 10 men, England were forced to just close down. Having to play either Owen or Shearer alone up front to shore up the right wing really negated England's potency and what else could they do but get behind the ball?

But I found the contest even more enthralling after that. I really was full of admiration for the English players, it would be remiss to single any individual out. They each gave everything.

It was fascinating to observe the Argentinians as the game wore on. The sweet exchanges which were so dizzying early on gradually dried up. They were intent on just working the ball through the heart of England's defence and there were literally no avenues open.

It wasn't that surprising that they persisted because that is their style. They don't have great width and they don't really possess a quality attacking winger. But then neither do Brazil, so it won't necessarily hinder them from winning the competition. To be honest, Overmars is the only genuinely great attacking winger I have seen in this World Cup.

Regarding the penalties, once the extra time ended, this game was over. Penalties are just a lottery. England hung on, they gave themselves a chance and it didn't come off. There wasn't much more Hoddle could have done regarding the sequence of takers. You have to sympathise for Batty but there was no other obvious candidate to take that penalty, which was an horrendously pressurised kick.

The bottom line is England were unlucky. It would be churlish to say anything else. They may marginally have deserved to go through. But instead, Argentina will be elated with this result and the prospect of themselves and the Dutch going at it is one to savour. This World Cup is for real now, there is nowhere to hide.