"To lose in this way is very hard," said Sven. 

"The spirit has been fantastic and I have no complaints about anything - the players and the atmosphere all the way have been fantastic."

England were close to victory but when Spurs striker Helder Postiga headed Portugal level with seven minutes left, the game looked destined for extra-time.

However, when Sol Campbell rose to head past Ricardo in the final minutes, Swiss referee Urs Meier harshly ruled his winner out and his watch was set for another 30 minutes and Sven admits that the luck was not with his side.

Sven continued: "I don't want to comment on the referee - but we were not lucky with some things out there tonight. That's football unfortunately.

"From the bench it looked all right - I haven't seen it on television but the referee said it was a push and he decides.

"To lose on penalties is very hard.''