Killer blow

Rivaldo's goal finished us, admits England

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SHIZUOKA, Japan (Reuters) -- England players praised the Brazil team which knocked it out of the World Cup quarterfinals Friday -- but said it could all have been very different if Rivaldo had not equalized just before the break.

Rivaldo's injury time goal took the wind out of England's sails and even Ronaldinho's 57th minute red card after scoring Brazil's second failed to save Sven-Goran Eriksson's men in a 2-1 defeat.

Kieron Dyer told reporters: "If we'd have got a (second) goal, then obviously we'd have had the advantage and they would have been down to 10 men.

"But to be fair, and all credit to Brazil, it seemed like we were down to 10 men and they had 11 men -- the way they knocked the ball around was unbelievable."

As for the turning point, Dyer said: "I think the goal just before halftime decided it really. It knocked the stuffing out of us a bit and obviously it gave them a massive lift."

That verdict was shared by fellow midfielder Trevor Sinclair, who admired the Brazilians' performance but felt the game could well have ended with an England victory.

"I'm massively disappointed because the game could easily have gone the other way.

Crucial moments

"They scored at crucial times in the game, two or three minutes before halftime which was a killer blow, because it would have been good for us to go in 1-0 ahead.

"Then in the second half they scored five, six minutes into the game with a freak goal and from then on we were chasing the game.

"They're the best in the world at keeping possession -- even when they had a man sent off they kept possession well and made it difficult for us to get the ball and create chances ourselves."

Michael Owen, who had opened the scoring for England after 23 minutes, also had a few regrets about the end result and the timing of Rivaldo's strike.

"Very disappointed to get knocked out especially after the start we got," said the 22-year-old striker.

"It's all about ifs, isn't it?

"If we'd just hung on till halftime, I'm sure the story would have been different. But that's the way it goes."

Determined to look on the bright side of a tournament in which many believed England would not have survived the Group of Death alongside Argentina, Sweden and Nigeria, Owen added: "We've got to take a positive out of it as well.

"We've gone quite far in the tournament and we've got a young side. I think we'll be a force to be reckoned with in the next few years."

 

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