In front of a vociferous crowd that was 80% behind England, Portugal stunned England, turning out the lights for what many said were England's best hopes at the World Cup. (I have been rooting for England, as well as the U.S., Mexico, and Italy, who plays Germany in the semi-finals.)
Both England and Portugal exchanged moments of impressive offense. England seemed to dominate play in regulation time, thanks to Crouch, Hargreaves, Terry, Lampard, Gerrard, Carragher & CO. And Portugal especially seemed the more aggressive in overtime. But it was Ronaldo who shined in the penalty kicks, blocking three sure-fire goals. In fact, though won alluded his grasp, he accurately predicted where the ball was going each time.
Portugal scored on 3 of 4 penalty kicks: Sabrosa, Pauleta, and finally Ronaldo's kick to far-right corner to seal the England's ugly fate.
To England: A great fight!
To Portugal: Congrats. Good luck with Brasil, if Brasil isn't upset! Boy, wouldn't that be something to write about.
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