During that, Ronaldo joined the scrum and quite openly goaded his Manchester United team-"mate", who pushed him away. It was a very weak push, but the ref seemed to react to that and showed the red. Foolish by Rooney but artful by Ronaldo in a not entirely pleasant way. He was then caught on camera offering a sly, conspiratorial wink to one of his colleagues that will hardly endear him to away fans at Old Trafford next season. Perhaps that move to Real might not be a bad thing.
As for Sven, he's unlikely to get off lightly. England were poor in this tournament and the quarter-finals is not good enough to a team packed with such talent. The media's claws, sharpened over the past five years of similar underachievement, are certain now to find their prey.
Immediate afterword: Well, I'm writing this again. England are out on penalties once more. Ricardo was brilliant. He nearly saved the one penalty England did end up scoring, from Hargreaves, but Carragher, Gerrard and Lampard missed.
Rooney was sent off after an hour but England's ten were, on balance, proabably the better side. But they're all blubbing now as out they go once more. Scolari dances, Sven is Sven. End of.
Tom Dart, in Gelsenkirchen, is more eloquent:
The tannoy plays a stupid pop song, Stand Up for the Champions. Many of the England squad sit in the centre circle. History repeating. Again, and again. Ad infinitum? The England fans file out quietly or just stand, shocked. It was looking so good when Steven Gerrard stepped up... but... but...
A round of applause breaks out for Owen Hargreaves, announced as man of the match, then "Engerland, Engerland, Engerland". Defiant, but down and out.
England 1-3 Portugal - Ronaldo scores
That's it. All over for England. Cristiano Ronaldo slots it home and Portugal are in the semis.
England 1-2 Portugal - Carragher misses
Carragher is forced to retake it because the ref hasn't blown. He scores the first,but Ricardo saves the next.
England 1-2 Portugal - Postiga scores
No repeat of the chip from Postiga, who beats Robinson easily.
England 1-1 Portugal - Gerrard misses
Still 1-1 as Ricardo dives left and makes an excellent save.
England 1-1 Portugal - Petit misses
He tonks it wide. No, Robinson saves it. Maybe not. Who cares. It's wide.
England 1-1 Portugal - Hargreaves scores
Ricardo gets a hand on it, but it creeps in low and left. It's back level.
England 0-1 Portugal - Viana misses
The Newcastle reject goes hits the post. Robbo dives the wrong way.
England 0-1 Portugal - Lampard misses
Lampard hasn't hit a barn door all tournament, and Ricardo dives left to make a good save.
England 0-1 Portugal - Simao scores
Long delay as the referees arses about. But then it's into the left corner. Exellent pen.
Robinson v Ricardo. Any minute now.
PENALTY SHOOT OUT
England have Rooney in the dressing room, Beckham on ice, Owen in Liverpool. Is the scene perfectly set for a win against all the odds? Who the hell knows, but we'll soon see.
Here's Tom Dart, who's still alive in Gelsenkirchen:
Yikes. From the moment Rooney was sent off a mood of nervous tension gripped the England sections of the stadium - ie, nearly all of it - and it only got worse.
Improbable chants: "There's only one Owen Hargreaves" - sung right near the end of extra-time. Just reward for his indefatigable running.
The stadium PA is now playing Que Sera Sera - a funked-up disco version. The England fans are singing along, as well they might. I think we've been here before...
ET 30 mins: Last attack for Portugal and everyone has left Miguel alone on the right flank. His low cross is turned behind by Carragher for a corner. Ball is in Robinson's hands and ... punt. But the ref won't blow his whistle, giving Maniche a chance to shoot over. Penalties it is.
ET 28 mins: Well, there's your tactical masterstroke. Eriksson takes off Lennon for Carragher. They want penalties, but there are still two minutes left. I'm enraged by that, but if England have to go through via spot kicks, then so be it. Just please don't play for them, then balls them up again.
ET 26 mins: Steven Gerrard is looking every inch the player entering his 12th consecutive month of football. He's running through treacle, but gives it his all, the only way he knows. The England bench are fidgeting with their papers, suggesting an imminent substitution.
ET 25 mins: Terry rises highest to glance a long cross behind. He then crumples to the ground with cramp.
ET 24 mins: Portugal play around with it deep in England territory before Petit thwacks one in from 30 yards. Robinson does well to gather. He's still looked a bit uncertain in the goal today, but holds that one.
ET 22 mins: Ronaldo has a header saved, then Hargreaves dinks a lovely ball over the top to Crouch. He can't bring it down and the "threat" is cleared.
ET 21 mins: Carvalho is booked for getting in the way of the "go" part of Neville's give and go. England attack again and once again it's Lennon wriggling into the box. But this time he over runs it, and it's out.
ET 20 mins: Lennon attempts to set Hargreaves through. He can't quite control, but has still been heroic here and everything everyone has ever said about the German Canadian must be retracted. He's made that holding role his for the next five years on this show alone.
ET 18 mins: Ball is in England's net, but Postiga is offside before he heads past Robinson. Another long throw from Neville is wrestled away by Portugal.
ET 16 mins: John Motson is doing everything he possibly can to get me to stick my fist through the television. He's mentioning penalties in every breath, while on the semi-beat he's listing the Portugal players who have't done that well. That is called tempting fate. Then one player who has done well, Lennon, goes on another brilliant run that's brought to an abrupt halt in the box by Valente. Excellent challenge, more's the pity. Hargreaves is booked for chatting.
ET 15 mins: Ronaldo has a pop from 25 yards that Robinson tips over. Ref doesn't see the tip and England have a goal kick. That's half-time, extra time.
ET 13 mins: A moment of fairness to Crouch. He's being asked to hold the ball up from all these long punts and isn't doing badly. However, he really isn't looking threatening when England are getting in the box, which they have been doing far more often than you might expect.
ET 12 mins: England have another excellent chance. Lennon is central to it, he finds Neville on the overlap but his cross is muffed, yet again, by Peter Crouch who doesn't know the meaning of sharp. Robinson is forced to save low a moment later from Maniche's drive.
ET 10 mins: Portugal's chance to engineer something. Miguel, who is one of the best up and down players in this World Cup, is a threat down the right, but England's excellent centre back pairing again are able to clear. Crouch is dispossessed by Petit after England thump forward, but Simao runs out of play.
ET 8 mins: Hargreaves bends the kick into the box, but it's cleared. Then it's frantic. Gerrard and Lampard burst in. Gerrard crosses towards Crouch, but some excellent defending from Miguel gets it away.
ET 7 mins: Another massive punt forward from Robinson gives Crouch another chance to shine. But he fails, ending up spreadeagled after a challenge from Carvahlo. Gerrard attempts to burst through the midfield and is sandwiched, earning England a free kick on the left.
ET 5 mins: England's brief period of pressure ends and Portugal send another wave forward. That ends when Simao blasts hopelessly wide. It is the very definition of nervy at the moment, and Portugal also seem to be feeling it.
ET - 3 mins: Long kick from Robinson and Crouch is fouled by Carvahlo underneath it. The kick comes in towards Crouch, but it's off a Portugal head for an England corner. Crouch under it, but headed too high.
ET - 1 min: Portugal really have this by the scruff of the neck and should be ashamed of themselves if they don't win now. They begin promisingly enough, playing it around confidently just outside England's box. England have no choice but to defend deep and Ronaldo drives in a shot. Blocked, then a brilliant tackle from Hargreaves, who has been magnificent.
FULL TIME - So, it's extra time with ten men and only Crouch up front. I'm off to take up smoking for the first time in my life. But will be back.
91 mins: Nothing from the corner, but Hargreaves attacks again and the ball is at Terry's feet in the box. It's deflected for another corner. That is punched away and Portugal go straight up the other end where... Postiga blazes over the bar. We're looking at extra time now.
90 mins: Three minutes of injury time and England are on the attack. It's worked out to Lennon, who forces a corner when he tries to wriggle round his full back. Lampard takes it...
89 mins: More desperate defending from England. Valente, Miguel and Viana attempt to work their way through, but Ferdinand is in the way. Cole then carelessly gives the ball to Maniche, but his shot is stopped by Robinson.
87 mins: Portugal are going to score soon. They're camped out on the edge of the box and while England are heroically clinging on, it is just that: clinging on.
85 mins: Luis Figo is taken off, to be replaced by Helder Postiga. He is a striker, so Portugal have at least addressed that deficiency. That he is also a striker with some history of upsetting England has not escaped many observers.
84 mins: Portugal have all the possession now, but England have the chance to break. Crouch, who looks more spindly, fragile and useless, the more important the game, can't beat his man, though, and Portugal attack again. Maniche fires over the bar.
82 mins: Lampard drives and Ricardo saves. The loose ball is seized upon by Aaron Lennon, but he squanders his chance to become a hero with a weak left-foot shot that Ricardo holds on to.
80 mins: Ashley Cole and Peter Crouch refuse to kick the ball out when Hugo Viana and Nuno Valente are both prone on the turf. That, of course, rattles the cage of the fair-minded Southern Europeans, who charge up to 30 yards to remonstrate. There's still action in this one yet, but it might not all be wholesome. Robinson stops a shot from Figo, then Lennon is fouled for England, 25 yards out.
76 mins: Viana is on in place of Tiago as Portugal still refuse to put a striker on. Meanwhile, there's some doubt as to why Rooney was actually sent off. He clearly stamped on the player, but the referee didn't look like he saw it. Instead, it seems as though he reached for his pocket when Rooney offered a really weak little shove at one of the jostling Portugal mob, which was hardly a red-card offence. But I've already bored myself with that speculation. He's offf, that's all that matters. Although a good, one-handed save from Robinson also matters, from Figo's curling shot. As does a crunching tackle from Ferdinand on Nuno Valente.
73 mins: A long ball from the back finds Gerrard free in acres of space on the left. But Peter Crouch is refusing to get in the box, jogging as though around Hyde Park looking at the sunbathers, and he's nowhere near it when the ball is drilled across the six-yard box. Run!
71 mins: Figo is sensing blood and langorously whips a cross in from the right that Neville does very well to clear. Crouch and Lennon, a little and large show to end all little and large shows, combine on the right and England have a throw. Neville's long ball into the box is cleared. Hugo Viana is stripping off for Portugal.
69 mins: Strong pressure now from Portugal, but England stand firm for the moment. In fact, the perceived sense of injustice might be what England need to pull this one out the bag. Owen Hargreaves ghosts from the middle of the park down the the byeline, by the left corner and gets a cross in. Too high.
66 mins: Crouch is on for Joe Cole. As Motson tries to grapple with Rooney's potential ban, let me tell you: he's finished. Di Rossi was banned for four matches for violent conduct in Italy's match against the United States and Rooney's will be seen in similar light. Portugla haven't shown much, but are now a man to the good and attacking through Luis Figo. Simao is also on for Portugal, replacing Pauleta. They've decided to sacrifice their only striker too. How very kind.
63 mins: OK, England have no forwards. Owen injured, Rooney suspended until the end of time, Crouch coming on now, probably. England have ten men, no idea and there will be trouble tonight on the streets of this country, one suspects.
61 mins: RED CARD FOR ROONEY! What on earth was that!?! He's being manhandled by Carvahlo in the centre of the pitch and Rooney stamps on his groin. He's off! The England icon has flipped his lid and will now be out for the rest of the tournament. Violent conduct. England have lost the World Cup.
60 mins: There's a marked upping of the tempo since Lennon came on. Lampard now breaks and lays on Rooney in the middle. He attempts to beat the three defenders there, but the first stops him. Portugal break at pace through Miguel, but that's stopped. Then there's trouble...
58 mins: Aaron Lennon take a bow. If your team-mates were as good, England would be one up. Lennon jinks in from the right, turns three defenders inside out before Rooney has a scuffed shot. The ball breaks to Cole but he's that close to getting a decent foot on it and it goes over. Excitement, though. And Portugal had no idea what to do with Lennon.
55 mins: Joe Cole comes inside then flicks it out to brother Ashley. Ashley backheels to Gerrard down the left and Miguel tackles him, conceding the corner. That's too close to Ricardo, who claims. Soon after, Maniche goes down under the rush of air that blows past him as Hargreaves jogs past and, thankfully, the referee isn't buying it.
53 mins: Beckham is crying. Has he no shame? Vomit and now tears. It looks like it must be an Achilles injury or something. He was hardly touched, but is clearly in some pain. Ronaldo attempts to start something down the left, but runs out of pitch and this drab encounter gets drabber.
52 mins: Beckham's right ankle is in an ice pack and England have a corner. Gerrard takes it and Lampard is completely unmarked 15 yards out on the right. But can he shoot? Can he heck. It's about as graceful as Crouch's attempt againt Trinidad.
50 mins: Good from Rooney, who threads Beckham in down the right and his cross strike's Valente's arm. Penalty appeals, but no dice. That's Beckham's final contribution. He's now off, Neville is the captain, and the pocket dynamo Aaron Lennon is on. Beckham's right ankle is in an ice pack.
49 mins: Some inexplicable juggling by Paul Robinson afet a backpass from Neville, before he balloons it straight at Ronaldo. He steps over, steps over, steps over, etc x10 before Neville gets a toe in. Beckham is trying to run off his injury.
47 mins: Wow! That's Aaron Lennon warming up. Beckham got a nudge in the back from Nuno Valente. He's a sizeable chap these days, our Nuno, but even so, I can't believe Beckham got injured there. But the captain is definitely limping and Lennon is stripped.
46 mins: The beginning of the second half interupts the England fans' national anthem rendition, mercifully. No subs for either side yet.
HALF TIME - Talk among yourselves. It's nil-nil.
The latest from Tom Dart, in Gelsenkirchen:
It's really a case of the players needing to inspire the fans here. England's bright beginning prompted plenty of noise from the fans but when the performance fell flat midway through the half, so did the atmosphere. For a few seconds at various points, it was so quiet you could almost hear Sven-Goran Eriksson sigh.
At least the England fans' band are doing their bit. The Portuguese fans, naturally, became more buoyant as their side's threat grew. Even though it's nearly 6pm local time it remains very warm and the humidity level seems to have increased.
45 mins: Read this carefully. It's not a typo. Frank Lampard strikes one from 25 yards and it's on target! Wow. Ricardo saves comfortably, of course, but that is infinitely promising for England.
43 mins: Entering Beckham territory. Petit fouls Joe Cole, 25 yards out. He's booked and banned. Beckham is over it and... hits the wall. "That's not a good free kick," opines Mark Lawrenson. Worth every penny of your license fee.
42 mins: Robinson rolls out to Beckham and then he spreads it across the pitch, via Hargreaves, to a virtually anonymous Joe Cole. He feeds Hargreaves again whose into the box and wins a corner. That's England's best move, although the corner is rubbish.
40 mins: Petit winds up to take a shot from about 45 yards, but sees sense and lays off to Tiago. Petit gets it back, then tries to chip forward. It hits Lampard's knee and goes behind for the first corner of the match. That is short, but eventually chipped in, and Robinson is forced to claw it away from his far post from Tiago's header.
38 mins: Figo steams down the right, kind of, after Beckham looses out. He cuts inside, just into the box, and bends a right-footed shot across Paul Robinson's goal. It's too high and a touch wide, but Portugal's threat is the greater.
35 mins: Worrying signs for England in that Wayne Rooney, the lone striker, of course, is seen somewhere near the edge of his own box picking up the loose ball. The five-man midfield, whose sole job would be to make sure Rooney doesn't have to do that, stand and watch. Not quite the urgency we're accustomed to seeing on Saturday afternoons.
33 mins: A definite slump in proceedings almost prompts me to write about Ashley Cole doing up the laces on his red boots. But that would be dull. Instead, here's what John Motson thinks: "John Terry has a heart and a head. And he plays with both."
31 mins: As the thought of Sol Campbell starting in a World Cup semi-final, shortly before signing for Portsmouth, dawns on a stunned nation, Miguel goes on a jink down the right. His cross is England-esque and Neville tidies up. England attempt to attack, but you really wouldn't call it that if you'd seen it.
28 mins: Hargreaves gives the ball to Ronaldo somewhwere near the centre circle and the hotstepper hotsteps it all the way to the edge of the box where Frank Lampard is distinctly unimpressed and brings all that nonsense to an end. Terry, however, is left poleaxed himself some moments later when he clatters with Tiago challenging for a high ball. He is even more vacant looking than normal and comes round to learn he has been booked - he's out of any semi-final. Go on, cry.
25 mins: Some typical Rooney grit leaves Miguel on his backside - the England man initially loses the ball but then clatters through the full-back to win it back. Miguel not happy, chuckling John Motson more so.
23 mins: Maniche, Petit, Tiago play some neat passing triangles in the centre circle, slowing the tempo of the game that hasn't exactly bristled anyway. Migual and Figo attempt to work something down the right, by Hargreaves has tracked back and makes a good tackle.
21 mins: Gerrard spots a Lampard run and dinks it over the defender for the Chelsea man. Just too far for Lampard to reach (and inevitably blaze over the bar). Gerrard shows the other side of his game, tracking back diligently and stopping another gallop from Ronaldo.
19 mins: Figo is being boo-ed by the England fans, a prompt he responds to by sending an exquisite 50 yard cross field pass to Ronaldo scampering down the left. Good ball. Ronaldo cuts inside Neville but Frank Lampards the shot into the top tier.
17 mins: Gary Neville is England's biggest threat at the moment, getting down the right overlapping Beckham like neither Hargreaves nor Carragher managed. His long throw, flicked on by Beckham, has Rooney and then Lampard in a dangerous position, but Portugal stand firm.
15 mins: The Owen-ator now mows down Figo to up his foul tally to three or four already. Scolari then gets a ticking off from the ref for daring to look animated on the touchline. Scrappy start this.
13 mins: Bloody hell, England. What was that? Figo lifts a bending free-kick in from the right. It ping-pongs off Neville, then Lampard and then Tiago only has Robinson to beat. He falls on the ball before the former Chelsea fop can capitalise. "Straight off the training ground," mutters a colleague.
12 mins: Hargreaves is doing his best to hassle the Portugal midfielders and succeeds in hacking Ronaldo from behind to give away a dangerous free kick and earn a ticking off from the referee. It's nice to know you're here. The free kick comes to nothing, but Ronaldo definitely has the better of the England Canuck at the moment, turning him inside out again soon after.
9 mins: Shot. On. Target. Gerrard pings it to Rooney, 25 yards out. He controls and half-volleys straight into Ricardo's arms. Substitute all those names up there for Ronaldo and Robinson and you've got near enough what happened at the other end soon after.
8 mins: Neville, Gerrard and Lampard combine down the right ans the full back is beyond his counterpart to float another cross too far over the six yard box. Good pressure from England, hopeless final ball.
6 mins: Lampard is dropping deep, Beckham cutting in from the right, Hargreaves glancing at both of them to let them know he's also there. Ashley Cole goes on a meander through midifeld and is fouled, allowing Beckham the chance to hoist one into the box. Terry goes down, nothing doing, Gerrard picks up on the right flank and floats one across the box. Too high.
3 mins: Gary Neville, who hasn't shaved since his injury, it seems, fouls Ronaldo. Our office poll has a red card coming to Neville this match, arguably for crimes pertaining to the top lip.
2 mins: Robinson gets his first touch. A weak cross from Figo, after he and Miguel try to work something down the right. They work nothing.
1 min: Here we go, then. England kick off. They're right to left on this Daewoo television, wearing white shirts and blue shorts. You know, like everyone else is wearing on the streets of this fine nation. Portugal are in blood red.
3.59pm: National anthems, etc. Everyone sings, the mascots look close to tears. More of this scintillating commentary coming right up.
3.55pm: Ah, yes. David Beckham has got to do a speech before the match. All the captains are making pledges on behalf of their teams as part of the anti-racism campaign. Beckham's first microphone is not working, his second is, but his speech is not what you'd call fluent. Luis Figo's is in Portuguese, and sounds much better as a result.
3.50pm: OK, bored of this build up already. We need action (and not just the news that Glenn Hoddle, former England manager, has resigned from Wolves). Meanwhile, in the cricket, Sri Lanka are doing their best to help the England players knock off early to watch the football: they're currently 115 for no loss, off about three overs. Nadal has beaten Agassi in the tennis, meaning my colleague on tennis duty (follow his coverage here) is going to be watching Andy Murray sometime in the second half.
3.35pm: Hello and welcome one and all to coverage of the most important match of this ten day period, between last Saturday's demolition (ahem) of Ecuador and a potential semi-final on Wednesday against Brazil or France. How's that for tempting fate?
London is awash with support. On the short walk to Wapping this afternoon, I saw two nuns with their faces painted with the St George Cross (they might not have been entirely chaste) and even a fellow of Caledonian descent chattering pleasantly from a park bench, a three-litre bottle of Olde English Cider cradled in his age-worn hands. That's English cider, folks. Everyone is doing his bit.
In Gelsenkirchen, Tom Dart will be filing his thoughts on the match. In Wapping, we'll be doing the same - and we have the benefit of John Motson and video replays to make ours the more enviable experience. Of course.
So, you're in the office, we're in the office, let's enjoy this together.
The 22 men who will assist/ruin that experience for us are listed below.
The latest from Tom Dart:
At the stadium:
A steady flow of England fans walk from the tram station to the nearby stadium. The atmosphere’s good-natured and relaxed. Two fans dressed as knights pose for pictures and eat pretzels.
Inside, it’s a little dark – the roof is shut. That makes it slightly cooler than outside, but more humid. Fifa’s Start List puts the temperature at 29 deg C and humidity of 32 per cent.
An hour-and-a-half before the off, England’s players emerged pitchside for a look around. Hugs and smiles between Joe Cole and John Terry and their Chelsea team-mate, Paulo Ferreira, who showed them something on his mobile phone. New ringtone, maybe. Steven Gerrard looked pensive, arms folded. Jermaine Jenas on the pitch: a rare sight.
Forty-five minutes to go. England’s goalkeepers run out to warm up and the PA plays Highway To Hell. Hope not. Then the DJ spins Let Me Entertain You as Portugal appear. The rest of the England squad trot out and supporters croon Three Lions in tribute. Already, hundreds of St George’s Cross banners drape the stands. The little pocket of Portuguese in one corner are going to be vastly outnumbered.
2.57pm: We have the teamsheet in our hands and the good news for England is that Frank Lampard has got over his twisted ankle and starts. Gary Neville is also passed fit to line up at right-back. The bad news is that Cristiano Ronaldo has also got over his boo-boo and starts for Portugal.
England: Paul Robinson, Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Owen Hargreaves, David Beckham (capt), Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Wayne Rooney
Coach: Sven-Goran Eriksson
Portugal: Ricardo, Miguel, Fernando Meira, Ricardo Carvalho, Nuno Valente, Petit, Maniche, Luis Figo (capt), Tiago, Cristiano Ronaldo, Pauleta
Coach: Luiz Felipe Scolari
Referee: Horacio Elizondo (ARG)
2.46pm: As we await team news, Tom Dart, Times correspondent and contributor to 2006 And All That weblog, is already at the stadium in Gelsenkirchen.
He says: "This is my fourth match in Gelsenkirchen and the atmosphere at the train station was the most subdued yet. More than three hours before kick-off, it was thronged with England fans (and a few Portuguese), many looking to buy tickets. But, as on the train on the way here, the mood was more nervous than bullish. Of course, there were a few Eng-ur-land chants, but the volume was surprisingly low.
"With public transport crammed and overheated, some fans chose to make the long walk to the stadium. The roads en route are dotted with shirtless, beered-up England fans soaking up the sun."
Live text commentary of the quarter-final between England and Portugal will begin at 4pm BST.
