'We are all devastated'

aet. 0-0 90 mins. Portugal win 3-1 on penalties

Saturday 01 July 2006
World Cup, Quarter-Final
Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen

Captain David Beckham has spoken for the entire England squad when he says how devastated he is to be out of the World Cup.

Beckham could not believe England's luck when they crashed out in a penalty shoot-out against Portugal in the quarter-finals and saw their dreams of winning the competition fall by the wayside.

Even when the Three Lions went down to ten men, following the dismissal of Wayne Rooney, the players showed enough determination to suggest they could still reach the semi-finals.

But just like back in Euro 2004, history was to repeat itself when Portugal broke the hearts of the England players and went through following a dreaded penalty shoot-out.

Beckham reveals it was hard to lift the players in the dressing room after the game, but says Rooney and his team-mates will all bounce back from this experience and become even stronger individuals.

Beckham said: "You always feel bad when you go out of a competition. I thought we played well and passed the ball around well. I don't feel we deserved to come away with nothing and you always feel bad after a result like that.

"There are a lot of young lads in the dressing room and there is a lot of heartache at the moment. It has ended for the team in this competition, but they will come through it and pick themselves up.

"Without a doubt Wayne can bounce back from this. He is our future and that is what people should think.

"People get sent off in football and that is the way it is sometimes. We are all devastated over the result."

Beckham suffered heartbreak of his own when he was forced to leave the pitch early in the second half because of injury.

Beckham added: "I twisted my knee in the first half and then I went up for a header in the first five minutes of the second half and the player landed on my Achilles. I will have a scan on Sunday and see what it is."