Rooney and England pay ultimate penalty

England 0 Portugal 0
Portugal win 3-1 on penalties: England are out of the World Cup in the cruelest fashion imaginable once again, after being dismissed on penalties by Felipe Scolari's Portugal in Gelsenkirchen.

The pivotal moment in the two hours that preceded the shoot-out was the 65th minute sending-off Wayne Rooney after the Manchester United striker stamped on Ricardo Carvalho's groin as the Chelsea defender lay vulnerable on the ground.

England were already without captain David Beckham, left sitting in tears with his head in his hands after being susbstituted in the 51st minute, seemingly after taking a knock from Nuno Valente.

Up until that moment neither side had really dominated with England 'keeper Paul Robinson being the slightly busier of the two.

His opposite number however, saved three penalties to give his side a 3-1 shoot-out win.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winning penalty after Ricardo saved efforts from England midfielders Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard and substitute Jamie Carragher.

Portugal now play the winners of the Brazil-France game in the semi-final.

Eriksson reacted to Rooney's dismissal by bringing on towering striker Peter Crouch for left winger Joe Cole, but England were badly lacking firepower up front.

Portugal Luiz Felipe Scolari, who was behind England's downfall at the 2002 World Cup for his native Brazil and did the same for Portugal at Euro 2004, tried to galvanize his men from the touchline.

In a free-flowing start, England keeper Paul Robinson had to smother in a goalmouth melee, while Portugal's defence was nearly unlocked by a neat three-man move that resulted in Frank Lampard almost converting a Steven Gerrard through-ball.

Beckham's replacement, Aaron Lennon, caused havoc with his first touches after the break - teeing up Rooney, only for him to mis-kick,  while Cole prodded the loose ball over the bar from point blank range.

Minutes later, things turned a lot worse for England as Rooney, who had limped out of that Euro 2004 quarter-final with Portugal with a broken bone in his foot, got his marching orders.

Portugal soon had England on the ropes, without creating a gilt-edged scoring chance, while John Terry and Crouch were both denied by last-ditch interceptions.

Though Ronaldo was a constant threat, Scolari's men struggled to break down England's tiring side, and Eriksson's men faced another sudden-death decider.

Simao Sabrosa opened the Portuguese account and England were immediately behind when the misfiring Lampard saw his effort repelled by Ricardo.

England were offered hope when Hugo Viana cannoned his shot off the left-hand post and Owen Hargreaves levelled despite a strong hand from the Portuguese 'keeper.

England then gained the advantage when Petit's shot mimicked Viana's effort but failure by Liverpool duo Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher allowed Ronaldo to send his side into the semi-finals and send England home once again.