Saturday, July 01, 2006

Portugal beats England to Reach World Cup Semifinals

Neither England nor Portugal was able to score a goal in the 90 minutes of regulation or 30 minutes of extra time. And Portugal had a man advantage from the 62nd minute onward after England forward Wayne Rooney was sent off with a red card.

After being knocked about by a couple of Portuguese defenders, Rooney lost his cool and stomped on Ricardo Carvalho, then pushed Cristiano Ronaldo.

England captain David Beckham missed much of the game, as he had to be substituted for the in the 52nd minute with a knee injury.

In the shootout, the teams made good on only one of their first three chances. Helder Postiga then converted for Portugal and the attempt by England's Jamie Carragher was blocked. When Ronaldo's shot went in, Portugal had a 3-1 victory and a berth in the World Cup semifinals.

Portugal's Brazilian coach, Luiz Felipe Scolari, through an interpreter, credited England for its effort. "We have to congratulate England because with 10 players they had an incredible match. I think it was electrifying," he said.

But it is Portugal that advances over England on a shootout, just like host Germany did over Argentina (4-2) in its quarterfinal on Friday.

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