Once again Englands remarkable inability from spot kicks has cost them a place in the semi-finals of the World Cup.
The 3-1 shoot out defeat to Portugal was a repeat of the European Championship exit two years earlier when the Portuguese where on home soil.
Owen Hargreaves was the only Englishman to convert his penalty as the England curse continued.
England have now lost six of the seven penalty shootouts they have been involved in.
Contrast this to Germany, who since defeat to Czechoslovakia in the 1976 European Championships have won every shootout they have been involved in.
That record becomes even more incredible when you consider they have also scored every individual penalty within the shootout.
But Englands demise could have been avoided had Sven-Goran Eriksson employed better use of the players at his disposal.
His decision to stick with David Beckham when the England captain is clearly past his best has caused frustration for many fans.
This was compounded by the performance of Aaron Lennon when he finally got his chance in place of Beckham during the second half of the quarterfinal.
His pace and...
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