England

0-0

Portugal



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

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

Gary Neville has given an honest verdict on England's World Cup exit and says we should have done better in Germany.

Neville is one of the most experienced players in the squad and has suffered heartbreak on a number of occasions for his country.

But with the weight of expectation going into Germany 2006 this summer, Neville says this is probably the worst he has felt playing for his country.

The England defender says his team gave everything in Gelsenkirchen, but knows it was simply not enough to progress through to the semi-final stage.

Neville said: "We could not have given any more, but ultimately we lost and we are out of the tournament and going home on Sunday. For England and the expectations of the people, this is not good enough.

"It is difficult for the players to know what to say after that result. I have been knocked out of tournaments before and sometimes you look back and think there wasn't enough belief and didn't have the confidence.

"I will have to watch the game again. I thought we played well at times and created better chances than Portugal, even when we went down to ten men. But we couldn't put any of them away.

"Sending-offs in big games can change the course of a match. It became more difficult for us after that, but I would not want to use that as an excuse.

"Italy played against Australia in the second round with ten men and won the game. We have not done the same thing against Portugal.

"It is not through lack of effort or lack of performance in the team. It went to penalties and then we suffered."