Daily Mirror:
BECKS IN TEARS AS ENGLAND'S GLORY BID FALTERS
Jun 14 2004
From Jeremy Armstrong, Paul Byrne And Clare Goldwin In Lisbon - David Beckham Last Night
DAVID Beckham trudged off the pitch in tears last night after England's bid for Euro 2004 glory got off to a dismal start.
The heartbroken captain partly blamed himself for the 2-1 defeat to arch rivals France after he missed a penalty with his team 1-0 up.
But it was two injury time goals in the space of two minutes by French wizard Zinedine Zidane that destroyed England's hopes.
Beckham said: "We've not deserved that, we definitely deserved to win that game.
"Maybe if I'd put the penalty away it would have finished the game off. I hold my hands up for that.
"If we'd have gone 2-0 up It would have finished it. "I couldn't have struck the penalty better but he (the goalkeeper) read me. For 89 minutes, 90 minutes we've performed really well.I think sometimes you get the run of the play and they got it in the last minutes."
Manager Sven Goran Eriksson echoed Becks' views, but remained upbeat.
He said "We were very unlucky. We played a very good game, an excellent game.
"It's important now that we keep our heads held high because we know that we did well. I am sure that you will see England in the quarter finals."
And he refused to blame the defeat on his captain's missed penalty. Sven added: "At least he had the courage to take it."
For nearly an hour it all looked rosy after Frank Lampard put England ahead on 38 minutes. But then the joy turned to pain when Beckham's Real Madrid team-mate Zidane blasted in a free-kick and converted a penalty after being up-ended by goalkeeper David James.
After the game in Lisbon, striker Wayne Rooney's dad summed up the mood of the nation when he declared: "I am gutted. We should have won it.
"I'm sure Wayne will be disappointed but we are still very much in the competition."
England 1966 World Cup winner Jack Charlton said he was stunned as he sat and watched the team "throw away" the lead in their opening game in Lisbon.
He added: "We went from winners to losers in a matter of minutes. I cannot believe it. For a long time I could not say anything, now I cannot stop swearing." At the final whistle the 40,000 England fans in the Estadio Da Luz arena sat in disbelieving silence as the French supporters went wild with jubilation.