England lose to Portugal on penalties in the quarter-finals of Euro 2004.
Where did it all go wrong?
Primarily the referee’s decision to disallow Sol Campbell’s goal when everyone else in the stadium believed it was a valid goal. With so many decisions going the way of the Portuguese it did seem that the supposedly neutral Swiss referee was biased.
Secondly with the loss of Rooney the team just sat back and defended their one goal lead and allowed Portugal too many chances, they were bound to equalise eventually.
Thirdly the dire state of the penalty spot may have hampered the efforts of the penalty takers although this was equally hard for both teams. In this same vein why can Beckham not score penalties anymore?
Anyway I am depressed and angry and vow never to watch another football match again, although I shall probably break that vow and watch the final in just over a week.
Roll on the World Cup in a couple of years and watch us crash out of that one as well and continue our role as chronic underachievers who are robbed of their rightful place in the final.
Tags: sport
