England left the World Cup, yet again, at penalty shoot-outs. You could say this is their curse.

Penalties were not the only cause for déjà vu after England’s FIFA World Cup quarter-final defeat by Portugal, however. Once again England had gone down with the type of brave, backs-to-the-wall performance that English teams do so well. As against Argentina at France 98, England lost a player to a red card – for David Beckham in Saint-Etienne, read Wayne Rooney in Gelsenkirchen - and just like then, their spirited display was undone by a penalty shoot-out.

The difference this time, however, was that England went into this FIFA World Cup genuinely confident of lifting the Trophy. The comments coming out of the camp suggested self-belief was not going to be a problem for this England team and even on the eve of the Portugal match, Eriksson was telling journalists: “I am extremely confident that this team we have can go all the way.”

In addition, England were considered by many to have their most talented squad of players since 1970. Yet the truth is that despite the star names, and despite the five and a half years with a Swedish coach, the England fans who journeyed to Germany in their tens of thousands simply ended up watching another typically English defeat.

Source: WCoffsite