Yet, Rodriguez apart, the knockout stages failed to provide the kind of inspiration theThe game seemed destined to be decided by a penalty shoot-out, just like when the
Crouch almost got on the end of a Gerrard cross but at the other end it needed some
of a major tournament for the third time in succession and now hands over to Steve McClaren.Beckham almost won a penalty with his last contribution of the game - and probablyall saw their efforts saved by Ricardo, who became the first player in World Cup
characters of even the lesser teams.This time round, classic encounters have been hard to find.
Asamoah Gyan celebrates scoring for Ghana against Czech RepLampard will be 32 at the next World Cup, so the European Championship may be his last big tournament.Eriksson had promised a big performance from his side but until Rooney's early exit it was not forthcoming.
Cast your mind back to 1974 and Johan Cruyff's turn that so bemused Swedish right-The same can be said of the bigger teams - the Brazilians, the Argentines.