England Falls to Portugal 3-1 in Shootout

Portugal goalkeeper Ricardo saved three penalty kicks and Cristiano Ronaldo drove home the decisive shot in a 3-1 penalty kick World Cup victory over England.

Portugal moves into the World Cup semifinal Wednesday against either Brazil or France, which were set to play later Saturday. Germany and Italy are paired in the other semifinal.

Ricardo has allowed just one goal in five World Cup games this year and kept England off the scoreboard for 120 minutes to force the penalty-kick situation.

After Portugal's Simao Sabrosa converted the first penalty kick, Ricardo stopped a try from Frank Lampard. Portugal missed its next two attempts and England tied the situation at 1-1 with a shot from Owen Hargreaves that reached the back of the goal even though Ricardo got a hand on it.

But Ricardo next saved a shot from Steven Gerrard. England's Jamie Carragher made a shot, but kicked before the referee said things were ready and had to try again. This time Ricardo blocked the shot to the left.

Ronaldo confidently moved to the penalty spot and sealed the victory with a shot high in the goal.

England played from the 62nd minute a man down as Wayne Rooney was sent off for some late kicks after tussling with Portugal's Ricardo Carvalho and Ronaldo.

July 1, 2006
Posted By Larry Rutherford
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com    Previous Page | Internet Gambling | Top Online Casinos | Submit News!