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By Phil McNulty
Our man with England
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England leave Portugal and Euro 2004 behind to head for home on Friday convinced that the only sort of luck they ever enjoy at major tournaments is bad.
And after yet another ill-fated penalty shoot-out entered the black museum of England's football history, as well as a highly dubious disallowed goal, Sven-Goran Eriksson's men may well have a case.
Sol Campbell's late header, which would have surely proved the winner, looked on all early evidence to be perfectly legal and referee Urs Meier mystified most of the 65,000 fans inside a seething Stadium of Light with his decision to rule it out for a foul.
But when the dust settles and the hard luck stories are all told, England must accept they were knocked out of Euro 2004 by a better, and more positive, side.
England suffered a devastating blow when Everton's Wayne Rooney limped off before the half-hour, and if they had added to Michael Owen's early goal, surely the host nation's party would have ended early.
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So painful, so cruel, so typical
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But after the break Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari outwitted Eriksson for a second time, following on from Brazil's World Cup quarter-final win in 2002, with bold substitutions and an emphasis on attack that ultimately broke England.
Scolari's approach was met by caution with Eriksson who, seeing England were being pushed back further towards their own goal, sacrificed Paul Scholes for
Phil Neville after only 55 minutes.
It signalled an England retreat that was eventually punished by, of all people, Spurs flop Helder Postiga.
Portugal were fluid, inventive and pacy, while England were trapped and reduced to firing long balls towards Owen and Darius Vassell.
England spent long spells of the second half without the ball, pressurised until it was inevitable they would be hit with a knockout blow.
Eriksson was cautious whereas Scolari was cavalier, and maybe this was a case of fortune favouring the brave.
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Promising signs are there, but work still remains to be done if England are to finally claim a major crown
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The lottery of penalties decided the winners, and while England will rightly feel robbed after Campbell's "goal" was ruled out, on a purely footballing basis justice was done.
England went out of the tournament without their captain and most high-profile star David Beckham ever threatening to make his mark.
Beckham has been poor in Portugal, flouting his billing as a world-class player as he looked sluggish and off the pace.
And his penalty-taking has now become something of an embarrassment - he should hand duties on before more damage is done to his reputation.
England's own performances have also been patchy, particularly for 70 minutes against Switzerland.
The big bonus has, of course, been Rooney, while Sol Campbell has also been immense and if Ashley Cole has ever played a better game than he did against Portugal, not many people could remember it.
Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard make a formidable midfield duo, so out of the dust of disappointment England can see a new team emerging in time for 2006.
Michael Owen also delivered a selfless and goal-scoring performance against Portugal to deliver a timely reminder of his class.
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England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson will regard it as an opportunity lost
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But Eriksson leaves Lisbon with some of the same problems he was wrestling with when he arrived.
The left-side midfield problem is still not solved. Scholes is not the man to fill the role - he needs to be in the middle with the ball, not stuck on the margins of
the game with defensive responsibilities.
Goalkeeper David James must now be thanked for his services and removed for one of either Paul Robinson or Chris Kirkland, if fit.
If these changes can be made, then England have a real chance of getting into good shape for Germany in two years time.
And if there is one scrap of consolation England could cling to as they listened to the car horns sounding in celebration in Lisbon in the early hours after their defeat, it is that they have in their possession the tournament's biggest star.
Wayne Rooney delivered three astounding performances before he was cut short by the boot of Portugal's Jorge Andrade.
He will be around for many major tournaments and will get better - but as they return to England, Eriksson's side will fool only themselves if they believe it was merely ill-fortune that led to their downfall.
Promising signs are there, but work still remains to be done if England are to finally claim another major crown.
MMIX
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