England 0-0 (penalties 1-3) Portugal

Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo saved three penalties to give his side a 3-1 penalty shootout win over England in the World Cup quarter-final on Saturday after a goalless 120 minutes. Ricardo became the first goalkeeper to save three penalties in a World Cup finals shootout.

Portugal now play France in the semi-final. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winning penalty after Ricardo saved penalties from England midfielders Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard and substitute Jamie Carragher.

Soccer Pundit felt that this game was again an uninspiring performance from England and the only drama came from the controversial sending off of Rooney in the 62nd minute. Involved in a tussle for possession, Rooney stamped on the groin of defender Ricardo Carvalho virtually in front of Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo. He gave Cristiano Ronaldo a shove after he ran from 40 metres to the referee to protest about the incident. It was unclear from the FIFA officials whether Rooney's red card was for his stamp or his shove but for Soccer Pundit, this was a very harsh punishment.

Before that, England were already without captain David Beckham, left sitting in tears with his head in his hands after being substituted in the 51st minute, seemingly after taking a knock from Nuno Valente. One consolation for England was that they gave a wonderful response despite being down to 10 men and they defended their goal very well. Portugal, instead restricted themselves to long-range shots and even have to contend with England attacking on the break.

As the record stands, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has again done a one-up over Sven since the pair crossed each other's path during Sven's reign as England coach. Scolari's record in the World Cup matches is immaculate and they now have an outside chance of making it to the finals. If things fall into place nicely, they could even lift the trophy. France will be in the way and this would be epic battle between the two sides and probably the last encounter which we will ever witness between two soccer icons, Zidane and Luis Figo.

Luis Figo is the last of the golden generation of Portugal playing in this World Cup and he has enjoyed a good run so far. Under the guidance of Scolari, Figo has found a new lease of life and has put his skills and leadership to good use. He and Deco will have to wrest the midfield dominance from France. As for France, the rejuvenation of Zidane came at the right time for them and how Portugal deals with him will decide the outcome of the match. Soccer Pundit has no doubt that Scolari is already plotting the downfall of France...