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Tuesday, 13 June, 2000, 00:13 GMT 01:13 UK
Can England bounce back?
 Dejected England fans will be wondering if it is all over
Two goals up after 18 minutes and England appeared to have made a perfect start to their Euro 2000 campaign.
Disclaimer: The BBC will put up as many of your comments as possible but we cannot guarantee that all e-mails will be published. The BBC reserves the right to edit comments that are published.But three unanswered Portuguese goals later and England's championship credentials are in tatters. That, at least, will be the verdict of the press with the tabloids focusing on England's tactical naivety. After all, can you imagine Germany, Italy or Spain throwing away a such an advantage? How much of the blame can be levelled at Kevin Keegan? Or perhaps you think it was just a case of not being quite good enough on the night against high-quality opposition? Whatever your opinion, this is your chance to share it with the web's most informed football audience. Can England still win Euro 2000?
Portugal are the team with by far the most flair in the group. When they play well they can beat anyone. Unfortunately for England that is exactly what they did. If England play as well as they did in the next two games they will have no problems in qualifying.
When defending the team need to close down players more effectively, but neither Germany nor Romania have the flair to break down the defence in the same way as Portugal did.
Dennis Brons, Netherlands
I never expected England to win the match. We have spent far too long now with our heads in the sand wanting to believe that England are a great team. We haven't been great for 30 years. I'm not suggesting that the team members who played did not give their all, but the fact remains - we just do not have enough talented players who look like they are happy on the ball.
The England team is too respectful of the other teams and need to go for it more. They all seemed to fear Luis Figo in the Portugal game and let him do what he liked. At the end of the day I think England should not listen to the "hype" that surrounds these so called great players and should instead try to deal with them.
It's the England defence which really need to get into shape, they fell hook, line and sinker for Figo's tactic of running straight at them and they couldn't cope. England need to improve rapidly for the match against Germany or they will be outplayed by an ageing team.
Overpaid players produce underplayed results.
Paul Williams, UK
England desperately need to find a world-class playmaker in the midfield. While Scholes is a quality player, he has not got the skills of a player who can single-handedly control a game. Can't we find someone in the whole football league to take over from Gascoigne ?
England have good enough players to win. They should try the Nevilles, Campbell and Southgate in a flat back four with Wise and Beckham holding midfield, Scholes attacking centre, Owen and Heskey supporting strikers with Shearer up front.
England has no strikers of the quality needed to win at this level. Their best hope is to scrap the two strikers system and use Owen as a lone striker with support from the proven talents of Scholes and Beckham. I think calls for Keegan to go are premature but if he fails to make the radical team changes that the poor performance against Portugal shows are needed, then he will be proving that he is the wrong man for the job.
If England wish to salvage some pride stop playing defensive and start attacking. I may not be a national team coach, but it is understandable when you attack you tend to push the opposition into their own half.
Andy Birnie, England
England are so tactically naive and bereft of invention that they are becoming an embarrassment. We do not possess a single world class player. On Monday the ball was constantly pumped into Portugal's box to such an extent that towards the end the midfield was being totally bypassed.
We are not going to win anything with older players. Plan for the future, beginning against Germany, and bring in Gerrard, Phillips and Heskey
One lost England game. Then everyone moans and groans, viewing both the England team and Keegan as big bad wolves. There will always be losses, it is only natural. If England had won 2-0 against Portugal, I am sure that everyone would have been saying that they were the best thing since sliced bread. Moreover, should England beat Germany, people will, no doubt, see the England team as magnificent.
A very bright start from England but the usual problems came back to haunt them. When things are going England's way they get lucky and even creative, but when they are playing a surging team like Portugal were last night, they are worse than useless. England should face up to the fact that they'll never really win anything apart from friendly games.
Firstly let's congratulate Portugal on a magnificent comeback. They showed resilience and spirit as well as sublime skill. Perhaps this time they will live up to their reputations! As for England - tactical simpletons, with a lack of ball-holding and using qualities. None of the three forwards tried was able to keep possession and hold it up for the midfield which in turn was swamped. I sat in disbelief as Keegan did not reinforce the midfield at half-time, instead bringing on Heskey. It was Kamikaze football at its most extreme. Very entertaining, but completely crazy. Unless Keegan sees sense and learns from the mistakes the only question can be, will England be able to score three ?
Why is anyone surprised at yet another England collapse? The fact is that we no longer encourage home-grown talent in the game, and as long as a large proportion of the Premier League's bloated revenue continues to be spent on foreign players, things won't improve. If we want an England team capable of taking on the world, we should invest in English talent.
The new six-second rule for goalkeepers has exposed another England weakness. In the France-Denmark game Schmeichel and Barthez regularly made use of their new freedom to put their team on the attack. For most of the England game David Seaman waited before falling back on the traditional hopeful punt up the field. You can't tell on TV whether it was Seaman who was slow or his team-mates who didn't create the space for him - probably a bit of both. A small thing, but indicative of the lack of speed of thought that characterises England's current team.
Alistair Gray, Scotland
3:2 flattered England. Portugal were by far the better side. After the early goal, they were playing the better football and creating more chances. McManaman's goal was against the run of play. After that, England were saved further embarrassment by some dodgy off-side calls. England did not play that badly, they were just beaten by a much better side.
Saying that England's chances have been dashed is premature, and unwarranted. A lot of work needs to be done on the defence obviously - get rid of Gary Neville and put Martin Keown on instead of Tony Adams - and the midfield needs to be strengthened - three fast, attacking midfielders will always leave gaps too big for a below-par Ince to cover - but there are also many positives.
The attacking from England was only let down by Shearer's one dimensional play, and the defence was only let down by bad positioning. These are fixable problems. Germany and Romania should be no problem to a team that can score such high quality goals.
We are in a deep mess, Keegan should be brave enough and leave Shearer out of the starting line up for the next game. Personally I believe Keegan has cost us the tournament. Portugal taught us a lesson in football, and perhaps it's about time for us to simply concede that we are not the best in world.
England are lost in the football wilderness, but refuse to see it or admit it.
They use bricklayers as backs who are as flatfooted as they come the rest of the team, except Beckham, are highly unimaginative. England wake up! You don't have a team of world beaters but a team of mediocre players.
Although heavy hearted and seriously annoyed about England's lack of fighting spirit, I feel we are taking the credit away from Portugal, who are an incredibly talented side and so proved last night. I feel we will still qualify, but the quarter-finals will see the end of Euro 2000 for this team.
When I saw a team in white relying on the long throw I thought I was watching Tranmere Rovers. Modern football has been reduced to this. People expect some magic solution and there isn't one. England has many gifted players, but never has the time to establish any sort of consistency. We were lucky to get into the competition, so can we really expect fantastic results ? The English attitude seems to be 'success or sack the manager'. Give Keegan a chance, give him a long chance, and let us establish a stable national football team.
Look what happened in the 1986 World Cup opening game; England lost to Portugal but we bounced back.
All this talk about an early exit is unfounded. They will have to work hard to improve but should cruise past an ageing German side and should beat Romania. If they fail to do this I think it is then time to worry!
Yet another valiant defeat and what depresses me the most is that, the first twenty minutes aside, we saw an England team wholly lacking in technical ability, skill, guile or panache; qualities, I might add, which the Portuguese had in buckets. Guts and grit are not enough and never will be. The Portuguese embarrassed us with perfect passing and fluid movement. Yet all we can so to do is hoof the ball around hoping for something to happen.
England's defeat was due to the fact that the Portuguese team is better. Please show some fair play and give us the credit we deserve. England have all the possibilities of moving further in the competition. Germany and Romania are a lot weaker than the two teams that provided us with this great game.
Kevin Keegan looked lost and clueless. He was probably thinking how to score another two goals rather than defending. His frailties exposed in the title fight against Manchester United have been exposed again.
England must learn from this game and win the other two. Coaching and techniques are important but not crucial. Ultimately, it's the quality, form and commitment of players that counts. The coach must be objective and courageous. I believe England can still come through this group.
We have always been technically ignorant of foreign football and until we start taking a real interest in the outside world, we will continue to come unstuck at international level. Keegan's such a nice bloke but like most England managers he's out of his depth on the world arena.
It was an attractive game, but mostly because of the terrible defending on both sides in the opening 20 minutes. The England vs Germany game will be twice as tense now because whoever loses is out of the tournament.
There were several faultless performances in the England side against Portugal. Beckham is clearly the player of the tournament so far. Owen, Scholes and McManaman also showed they are well worthy of their places. The problems lie with the so-called ball winners and defenders. If everyone in the England side just did what they were assigned to do, things would be much easier!
At least Mark Lawrenson knows what he's talking about. Heskey should never have made an appearance, he would have been out of his depth in my pub team!
We lost to Portugal because we gave them too much time and space in midfield and defended poorly. Keegan must take some blame for poor tactics.
I was happy with our start but absolutely mystified by our total lack of enthusiasm and desire in the last twenty minutes. Whether it's team spirit, too many egos or just general fatigue, our boys should take a leaf out of the Czech's book who displayed desire and passion. We could've salvaged a point had they gritted their teeth and showed a little of this so-called hunger that Keegan seems to bring up so often. For goodness sake, sort yourselves out for the Germans.
Mark Lawrenson has the guts to tell the sad truth. England committed schoolboy errors and acted like headless chickens, all chasing around when the game was won. We couldn't pass or defend properly and were exposed too often, giving the ball away and looking frightened towards the end.
We have to tighten up at the back which might mean putting in Keown for Campbell, who was very unstable. It's a bit late in the day to start experimenting with the team so much, but, in the same way, though a winning team shouldn't be changed, a losing team should . In spite of that all let's be positive, get behind the boys, and believe that we can pull off good results in the remaining group games.
What an absolute disaster! Some may say that England were unlucky. I think the Czech Republic were unlucky against Holland, England were just plain stupid for giving so much space
to Figo and Costa. I can't see England beating the Germans or the Romanians. In fact they'll be lucky to finish third in Group A.
Keegan simply left some of his best players at home. An injured Cole is better than most of those so-called forwards. Come back in four years when you are ready to use your best players.
When the going got tough, England lost. The problem seemed to lie in a disorganised and technically inept defence. The Arsenal connection at the back again looked terribly shaky and Phil Neville was clearly out of his depth but I don't see who we have to replace them for this tournament. England should retain some hope because of the attacking force of Beckham, Scholes, McManaman, Shearer and Owen who can be world-beaters on their day.
There is now a monumental task awaiting England. Beating Germany will not only give us a chance to progress but will also purge the demons that have haunted us since 1970. Go on England, play like your lives depend on it!
England tactics were very Division Three; a big boot up the field compared with the creativeness of the Portuguese. In defence we gave them much too much room and finding space for Portugal was easy. They created chances and we could only hope for the best with the lack of vision that we had.
Face the truth: Portugal taught England a lesson in midfield. Even with a 2-0 lead, Portugal were the better side and thoroughly deserved to win.
I don't see what the problem is. Keown, Barmby and Heskey in for Adams, McManaman and Owen. Germany and Romania don't hold much threat really. England lost to a really good team, Keegan took a gamble and it didn't quite pay off. Put it this way, England played quite well but lost while Holland were pathetic but won. Imagine if it was the other way around, we'd still be moaning about it.
I thoroughly enjoyed the match, and although England's loss was very disappointing, the players showed some true grit. The boys aren't out of it yet!
>
England can bounce back...right back to Heathrow. Bye-bye England, you're out of your league.
I stayed up until 04:00 to watch the match. This morning in Jakarta
England are a laughing stock. Yes, it was an exciting game but we threw away a two-goal lead against a team that are not even close to being one of the favourites for the tournament. I hope that
I am wrong but I think those that say were are not out of it yet are in a dreamworld.
I've had a nagging doubt for weeks that this game would prove to be a disaster and we can now expect five days of non-stop paranoia in the tabloids ahead of Saturday's match against Germany, a match we have to win at all costs.
Keegan is a great motivator, but he is a school-boy tactician. Any team with a bit of common sense would have balanced their attack with defence after taking a 2-0 lead. England have one of their best squads in years, but its plain to see that they are challenging the elite of Europe. What's worse is that Portugal isn't even part of that elite yet.
Keegan is the worst England manager in recent times. When England was 3-2 down with minutes to go, why did he bring on another defender for Tony Adams? Why not throw on another striker and pull a midfielder back into defence. He has asked English fans to put their money on England. Sorry mate! I, like most English fans here, will put our money on his replacement.
After having seen the game, one can only wonder how Keegan can show his face and say England will live to fight another day. Perhaps offering Mr Shearer a wheelchair instead of an armband may prove to be beneficial to the squad. Come back Andy, all is forgiven!
I sincerely hope that England get back up on their feet. The talent is there but the Engish have a nasty habit of under-estimating their adversaries and Kevin Keegan has proven on more than one occasion that player personality, and not quality, rules his choices.
Although the midfield has a definite problem, a lot of the blame has to be levelled at England's defence. A couple of the players looked as if they wanted to be elsewhere. It's time Keegan picked some proper talent for a change.
I am sure that England will bounce back. It is early days to say that England's chances are in tatters and our lads will prove that.
This defeat should teach Keegan a lesson; do not select players based on past form.
They blew the lead, but a little tinkering will fix those problems of the back four. Beckham was sublime in the first half hour. If they can conjure the same sort of threat down the left flank, they will do some heavy damage against Germany's ageing defence.
Remember in '86 we lost but came back strong. Portugal was never going to be easy and they will beat all the sides in the group. Gerrard for Ince and Keown for Campbell and all will be smiles on Saturday. Keep the faith.
The problem with England is a perennial one - a lack of thinking football. Keegan is clearly naive; in the post-match interview, he actually said he didn't know about Figo before the match!
It was a disappointing performance; the two goals scored came early and against the run of play. The fact that Neville's long throw was England's most potent weapon is a sad reflection on the state of the team. The majority of England players looked uncomfortable on the ball and at times it was almost embarrassing to watch. Given a decent chance, Shearer will score nine times out of ten but the service he gets is really poor. Wise made a bit of a difference when he came on but let's hope we can do much better in the two remaining games.
Mark Lawrenson has got it right - Kevin Keegan's failure to shore up midfield at half-time with Portugal playing everything in the centre, and nothing out wide, has to rank as a tactically inept performance. Surely some serious questions have to be asked?
Don't panic Mr Mainwaring! Be fair - this was easily the best game of the championship so far. England games are never dull and Portugal team are a good team who have promised good things over a number of years. Assuming they play that well against Germany and Romania, and England beat Germany and Romania, we'll all be laughing in a weeks time
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and if we ignore the rubbish in the media about removing Keegan so soon we should reflect and say our defence was always going to struggle against Portugal's youthful, fast-flowing midfield. The present set-up creaks and hobbles along relying on past memories to keep them in the game. Adams and Neville seem to be out of their depth and can't read the game anymore. I hope we beat the Germans but I have this nagging doubt they will curse us once again. Support the lads, support Keegan. Its not over yet!
Mark Lawrenson has the guts to tell the sad truth. England committed schoolboy errors and acted like headless chickens, all chasing around when the game was won. We couldn't pass or defend properly and were exposed too often, giving the ball away and looking frightened towards the end.
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