England's World Cup dream is over after they go down 2-1 to Brazil in a thrilling quarter-final in Shizuoka.
Where did it all go wrong for Sven's men?
This debate is now closed. A selection of your e-mails appear below.
People are mocking David Beckham on this page for not playing his heart out, or avoiding tackles. Please remember this guy had a broken foot eight weeks ago!
Chris Barnett,UK in Germany
At last we have some realistic comments about England. They were hopeless losers. Brazil have won a pathetically poor world cup, the same team that lost to Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Bolivia in qualifying.
Europeans are scared of Brazil, and lose with their negative tactics, and England did exactly the same thing. Nothing. They played well against Argentina, and rubbish against Nigeria, Sweden and Brazil. England will never win the World Cup, because they don't have the guts to try and attack in order to win. They are gutless losers, not the ´´ good old lads who done great
I am very proud of the team's achievements. True, we could have had a better second half but that is Football. Well done boys and hats off to you all! 2006 is ours to Grab and Owen and Cole will be the heroes.
Sid Reddiar, United Kingdom
To suggest that England could have done any better is to show a complete ignorance of football. England play long ball on the break not controlled football. They were never going to win against Brazil as soon as Owen scored. When will we learn? When we start to leave out the hype and install ourselves as 66-1 outsiders!
Matt Smart, England
England are terribly overrated, all they did in every match was play ten men behind the ball and try to hit on the break. Once they went behind against Brazil there was no hope of a comeback.
All the best teams in the world play possession football, while England are happy to surrender the ball for most of the game. Guus Hiddink was right to say that England played the most negative football of the tournament. What England needs is a new coach who can make more of the obvious talent in some of the players.
As a team, England did not give it their best shot. Ferdinand was awesome though - No wonder Sir Alex is trying to get hold of him.
Haviel Perdana, England
If England beat Costa Rica 5-3, the critics would say 'sloppy defence'. If they won 1-0, they would say 'lack of attacking prowess'. If they beat a team 3-0, they would say 'a poor performance from their opponents'.
Do you really think the England players can satisfy this country?
Jason Mitchell,Canada/British student
England didn't do anything wrong. The only problem they had was they met the best team... Brazil.
I hope that the English media learns from this lesson and stops hyping the team up to be the best in the world. From the ratings given, England were virtually superb! That is far from the truth. Be realistic. Look to potential for the next competitions, but don't take anything for granted.
Marcelo Augusto, Brazil
They showed that they lacked bottle against Brazil. They should take a leaf out of the Irish book - if they are going to lose they should go out fighting.
An under-achieving team. How they missed Steven Gerrard! They will get better and, if they can find a true playmaker, anything is possible.
Desmond Asiedu, Ghana
We may have things to be proud about, but we still need to ask serious questions about the way England play the game. It is simply embarrassing that Turkey, Belgium, Costa Rica and even China created far more against eleven Brazilians than we even attempted against ten. Portugal 2004 will be not be easier, despite what Beckham claims.
England was one of the poorest teams in the competition, losers as usual. They were lucky to get to the quarter finals; frankly they should have left with Nigeria. Beckham played pathetically, Seaman should be ashamed forever for his mistakes.
I hear the English are looking forward to the next World Cup... how many times do they want to get beaten before they give up? If they have any shame at all they will quit playing simply because they are not good enough.
Sven knows the team's strengths and he also their weaknesses. We don't have the players to play possession football. What we do have is a great passer in Beckham, a great target man in Heskey and a speedy finisher in Owen.
Every time we got the ball, it was a long one for Owen to chase or Heskey to try and win in the air. Nick a goal and rely on our strong defence. Great at 0 - 0 or 1 up - Very one dimensional and predictable when you are chasing the game.
Chasing and harrying is key to Sven's strategy. In the evening against Argentina and Denmark, when it was cool, this worked. In the heat of the day, against Brazil & Nigeria, it was a problem.
The squad missed the skill and determination of Steven Gerrard. He's the man to lead Liverpool to Champions League glory and England to victory at Euro 2004.
Mark Groves, England
It has taken time to be accepted as a black member of the UK, even thought I was born here. Each time I saw the Union Jack flying, thoughts of Racism came to mind. The flag represented an underground understanding of 'whites only please.' Even the St. George was associated with this kind of mentality.
This World Cup changed things with the unbelievable amounts of St. George flags flying proudly. For the first time in my life I noticed that not only whites were flying the flags but everyone was; black, Asian and white UK citizens. From the countryside to the inner cites of England, the flags were out in force. I even put one up myself.
The England players should be honoured, not only for there footballing achievements, but because they brought together the country and gave every English man and woman the chance to fly their country's flag with pride.
Dream on England! Unless your players can learn to play real quality football and have pride, passion, and the will to win, your hopes are just dreams for many years to come.
It is a shame that England could not outplay a ten man Brazil. I expected sharp criticism of Sven and Beckham from the English press and public. It was very clear that Beckham was not playing his heart out. The only English player with purpose was Owen - No praise is enough for him.
Regarding Beckenbauer's comment, suffice to say that this man played with a dislocated shoulder whereas Beckham avoided a mild tackle. My prediction - England will again gloriously fail in Euro 2004.
Franz Beckenbauer's comments were right on the mark. We seem unable to win anything. The performance against 10 man Brazil was hopeless. We had no passion or drive to win the game.
What is even worse, is that the run in to the final meant it was a real golden opportunity to win the World Cup.
On paper we had a team which was as good as eleven man Brazil, so why didn't more happen, when they had only ten men. These are multi-million pound players, England should always be getting to the Quarter Final stage at least. I bet if Germany went out in the quarter-finals they would be displeased by the effort.
Once we beat Argentina (which was a good performance for 80 percent of the game) we should have also made sure we won the group. To give us a better run in. Instead they let the foot off the gas and the result was they eventually went out.
The Rep of Ireland played with real passion and commitment to a man, they may not be valued as much as England but they went out to win, and can be proud of there run.
England should be proud, because with this young team they showed enormous potential and in two or three years we will see a GREAT England squad that will make us dream, maybe in 2004 in Portugal - thank you Sven.
England have been terribly overrated. A shaky match against Sweden, a good one (and the only one in which they played their hearts out) against Argentina, the most boring game of the tournament against Nigeria and a present from Denmark.
England never surprised or entertained. And once they went a goal down and couldn't lean only on their defence anymore, they couldn't make the game. In that sense, the hand of a Scandinavian coach who made his career in Italy was pretty obvious.
Franz Beckenbauer's comments were totally unfounded - if England had the mental strength of Germany? Rubbish. If Germany had the qualifying group that we had they would have been going home with Nigeria. If they'd scraped through the group stage and past Denmark does he really think that a German side that is a mere shadow of the sides that he played in would have made it past a resurgent Brazil?
With Gerrard and Murphy injured for the World Cup, Sven should have selected Steve McManaman, who is a creative player taking defences. Lack of attacking flair was shown up during all of Englands' matches and especially when it mattered most - against the ten men Brazil.
Naresh Gohil, Australia
We should be proud - the English team is a work in progress and they are still young. Next time in a more favourable environment and with lessons learned, they will be formidable in Germany.
Criticism for Seaman - fair enough maybe. But what about some for Beckham who jumped over rather than dealt with the ball in a situation that led to Brazil's first goal? Was this the action of a captain?
Peter Brady, USA
England will always be criticised to some extent until they win the World Cup. But we can take heart from this year's overall performance. We went into the tournament hoping to just squeeze through the qualifying stage but came out thinking we should have gone all the way. England had one game on, one game off and unluckily we met Brazil on an off day.
Dominic Hart, England
Sven plays on the break like Liverpool. That`s fine when you are ahead or level but it`s no good if you go behind. We do not have the same on the ball skills as other teams and are poor in possession. Why did he wait until the 79th minute to go to three at the back? We had 35 minutes against 10 men and did not get one shot on target - at least the Irish had a go.
Well done to England - and especially to David Seaman who kept us in the tournament against the Argies in the first place! He should not blame himself for us losing against Brazil - you never win a game by not scoring goals and we failed to do so.
Midfield is the most important part of the team and that's where we were lacking. Beckham's been far from his best, Scholes had a really bad match against Brazil, Butt was good against Argentina but otherwise mediocre and I don't remember Sinclair putting in a single good final ball in the whole tournament. With a midfield like that I'm not surprised we played so many long balls.
What was wrong with Scholes? He looked completely short of confidence, passing up several opportunities he would usually have shot from. With Beckham unfit, Scholes needed to shine, but he didn't. Was he fit?
James Davey, UK
The team did well under difficult circumstances. The injuries to Beckham, Dyer, Gerrard, Murphy, etc. badly disrupted their preparations for the tournament, and hindered their performances during it. I don't think we're the best team in the world, as Brazil showed us. However, we could have pinched that game and gone on to reach the final, maybe even won it. England is one creative midfielder away from being a world beater. A Gazza with something between his ears, or an English Zidane would put us over the top.
Jonty Rees, Brit in Texas
Although the second half performances against Sweden and Brazil were not quite good enough, this has been England's best tournament for a long while - we should be joint favourites for Portugal 2004.
Elliott Butcher, England
They don't have to be proud - they blew it when they started playing defensively and try to use the long balls to attack Brazil. They actually could have won the game in the middle of the park, by knocking the ball around and try to get into the box when Brazil were one man down.
If, when Sven took over, you had offered losing to Brazil in the quarter-final of the World Cup this year to any Englishman, they would have ripped your arm off for the opportunity. The boys did better than any of us expected and it was due to their brilliance that the rest of the country got carried away. Congratulations to the England team.
When the England squad was announced, this page was full of comments questioning the inclusion of Danny Mills at right back, stating that he was an undisciplined liability and was not good enough. Where are those doubters now? He has proven in this World Cup what we Leeds fans knew all along - he is the best right back in the country.
Jim Barnett, England
Why did David Seaman keep booting the ball deep into midfield, rather than pass it to a nearer defender to take forward. Eight out of ten times this happened, the Brazilians gained possession. Why give the ball away so cheaply, when it could be passed safely to a defender to take down the pitch? The national team will never learn to pass if there is a culture of booting the ball and hoping for the best.
Andrew Green, England
England's biggest problem is our passing. But all our players seem able to pass perfectly well when playing for their club sides. The England players don't want to make poor passes or hit it long but they have no choice. The reason for this is the lack of intelligent movement from the players without the ball.
Beckham is over rated - he should have been substituted against Brazil and was as much to blame as Scholes for their first goal. Also, football is a team game. Every time England conceded a goal, they bottled out. That's a bad sign and means they are still prone to self-doubt.
Toby Joyce, Ireland
How dare anyone criticise David Seaman's performance? At least he's not a time wasting big girl's blouse who cries for a free kick after a little (accidental) slap. He sustained a REAL injury and, after a while to recover, stood up and carried on like the hero he is.
The arrival of the players' families can only cause a major distraction to the job in hand. Prior to this, England had looked extremely focused and determined. It only requires minor problems of the domestic nature to take the edge off concentration and to soften them up. Bad move, Sven - what on earth were you thinking about?
Tony Davis, Sweden
This has been the best performance in any tournament by England for many years. Sven seems to have got the balance right in all areas of the pitch, even on the dreaded left wing with a wonderful performance by Trevor Sinclair against Argentina. Overall, the standard of play from each of them has been tremendous.
Russ Peters, England
Steven Gerrard would not have got us through that game with Brazil. He is a very good "English" style midfielder and can tackle and pass short well with the occasional long pass thrown in - but England never used their midfield except to plot the trajectory of the long balls out of defence. We could have played Zidane, Cruyff and Best at their peaks in our midfield but with those tactics we'd still have lost.
You played football that, for neutral spectators, really wasn't fun to watch. Normally English football is nice to watch, but when the national team plays it is boring. Even with 10 against 11, all they did was defend. The English people might be sad but the rest of the world was happy to see Brazil go through - at least they don't defend all the time.
What has Emile Heskey got to do, score a hat-trick every game? He is the best foil for Michael Owen at both club and international level and always gives 100%.
Alastair Wood, England
If anyone is worried about the goalkeeper situation in 2006 with Seaman, Martyn and James maybe being too old, then they should look to the future of Wright, Robinson and Kirkland - all future England internationals, even for Euro 2004.
In the first half of the Brazil game, we played incredible, controlling, creative football. It was when we resorted to the long ball that our game became boring and England looked like an overrated college team.
Scholes was too slow on the ball and created very little. England were very static, always standing still and very seldom taking on a man or making intelligent runs at the opposition. The England passing needs a lot of improvement.
Ken Hale, Canada
England missed a trick by not pressing for the victory against Nigeria. I would have preferred to play Senegal in the heat and faced Brazil later on in the semis at night. Senegal did look dangerous in the opening round but they are not as good at retaining the ball as Brazil and England has never lost to an African side.
Colin Mack, England
I cannot understand why Sven did not take Steve McManaman over there. His experience from playing with the Brazilians in Spain would have been invaluable in this game. He relishes playing in big games and his skills and head would have caused lots of problems to their back line.
Sven is the best thing that has happened to England. You have a truly great team in the making and were struck by several injuries prior to World Cup. England need Steven Gerrard - not only is he the perfect partner to Owen/Heskey but he is an absolute powerhouse who would have fed the strikers best.
We should be proud. If we had faced someone other than Brazil - had an easier route in this World Cup - we could have got to the semis. Whether we could beat Germany, South Korea, or Turkey during this World Cup, we will never know. We should be in those semis. Maybe not win it, but have a stab at being the third of fourth best team in the world but it's the luck of the draw. Whatever, I still think we are the best team in Europe.
Jon Robson, England
If we had been told when Sven took over that we would lose a tight quarter final against Brazil in the World Cup in 2002 , beating Argentina along the way, people would have taken it happily. People always expect miraculous progress and not steady improvement, which we have achieved.
The boys were wonderful and the whole of England was supporting them. We went to the party, we partied and then some. We invented football, and generously gave it to the world. Brazil are good pupils. English men and women be proud of your team and your country.
England are losers, just like every other team that doesn't win or didn't qualify for the World Cup. At the end of the day the only team that should be congratulating themselves is the team that wins the World Cup. Coming second best to anyone is not something that you should congratulate yourself on, a loser's mentality produces a losing team.
Ollie, Scotland (but German)
Well that's it for another four years. We missed a chance but if we went on to win it I think it would've flattered us somewhat. We weren't good enough but that's no shame. Don't be satisfied with quarter finals and let's think about a way forward with less games and a winter break. WELL DONE boys but let's get it right in four years time.
Steve Jones, England
England were doomed to disappointment from the time that the fickle, Beckham-obsessed tabloids jumped on the bandwagon and the whole country lost its perspective and sense of reality. Moreover England's tactics in the quarter final were shameful with the diving and injury-feigning of Beckham, Mills and co.
We should be really proud of how we've done in the World Cup. We've got further than most people thought we would, and we went out because we lost to one of the best, if not the best team in the world. Sven has done an amazing job to get us this far. If it wasn't for him we might not have been in the World Cup in the first place.
Darren Hart, Australia
I hope we play like we have been during the last few weeks in Euro 2004, although I think France and Italy will probably be a lot better by then. At least we won't have to play against Brazil again!
Nick Thompson , England
Sven brought the best out of the players, and brought cohesiveness in the team but seems to lack tactical awareness. But still, they beat the Argentines. Rio was the best player of the tournament. And there's no-one better than Seaman in goal.
England could not fool anyone this time and we have seen them for what they really are: an average overrated side with overrated players that are only considered as world class players in this country. And what boring football they play, they can't even make five consecutive passes.
Joe, Hong Kong
We even make German football look entertaining. We were pathetic, we lost to a far superior team and that's all there is to it! We were very very lucky to get this far and there's no way we are going to win anything with this team. Mind you, it doesn't really matter; we will just have to carry on talking about 1966, which is what we do best.
I don't care much for any of the predictable and frankly, crass sourness that inevitably follows our departure from a major tournament. Do these individuals put their money where their mouths are and do something positive? I doubt it. If they want Samba footie then they are going to have to accept a wholesale change in attitude towards their beloved domestic game, and be prepared for 90 minute-200 mph games to be a thing of the past.
Personally I think a combination of 'samba' and our more usual fast tempo type of game would be a joy. But either way it has to start with our juniors and youth, and from what I've seen lately, that is as likely as Scotland winning a major tournament at a canter!
Nothing went wrong. England performed above their level and were fortunate to reach the quarter finals. They were lucky against Sweden, had a dodgy penalty award against Argentina, were pushed to get a draw against Nigeria, and a benevolent Denmark defence gifted them three goals. They need to take a reality check on their so obvious deficiencies and poor standard.
Martin Woollatt, England
Brian McGinley, Scotland
Seaman is great, he is a sporting legend and did his best yesterday. He was fooled by the Brazilian player. Beckham, Owen and Butt all did their best and all I have to say is Brazil: watch out in the next world cup. It will only get better from here on in. England we love you all.
Dry your eyes England fans, if you don't know by now how bad you are then you never will! The current side will not be good enough in twenty years never mind another four. Quite simply, England can't do the basic things like pass the ball and keep it, so how do you expect to win anything?
Vicky McDonald, England Steve, England
Trevor, Northern Ireland
Keep up the good work Sven. One day we may see an end to the hypocritical tabloid mentality, that firstly builds up hopes, when the going looks good, and then shoots them down again when it doesn't go our way. I wonder.
Martin Woollatt, England
I am so proud of the English Team. Congratulations boys on your performance. David Seaman is a hero and has been a rock in that defence for years. One error on a fluke of a goal does not make you anything less than the World class goalkeeper that you are.
Fran Machado, England
Steven Gerrard was truely missed and I wish that the gifted Lee Bowyer had been given a chance. The predatory instincts of the two to turn games around could never be filled by anyone in the nation. Hope they can be there in 2004 and 2006.
Jaafar M. Tabbal,Egypt
I don't think that Brazil won; I think England lost the game. In 2006 don't count on the favourites falling so early. It was your time England!
England showed the world true sportsmanship. They played and accepted defeated as gentlemen. Hats off to their captain David Beckham and hats off to the goalkeeper Seaman. I believe this game deserved to be classed as a World Cup final.
In my opinion the England team has vastly underachieved. Group of Death? Nigeria and Sweden were only ever capable of scraping draws. I blame our exit on no-one other than the boss. Everyone goes on about the job he has done and how he should be knighted! We beat a poor German side and some overrated Argentines and everyone lost all perspective. Greece for example a poor team and poor tactics left Becks to rule the show and save any sense of pride.
Not only that the team are probably the most boring to watch in the world. I would have preferred to play well and gone out in the group than do what we did. How many times does Sven have to be shown his tactics are shocking? Bring back Robson or Venables because I for one will be glad to see the back of him. Everyone feeling sorry for Seaman? It wasn't that way four years ago was it? He deserves to get blamed for what he did and take some responsibility. Has everyone forgotten how privileged footballers are? At the end of the day the big wages are a form of compensation for the abuse they sometimes get.
Just as Seaman was credited with the success of England in the prior rounds, he should also be able to take the criticism for his mistake. Having said that, England had a poor game and didn't have more than four shots on target.
Arnab Chanda, USA/ England/ Saudi Arabia
Dreadful mistake by Seaman - but we don't appear to have learnt that the Brazilians are only skilful if you allow them time and space on the ball. In the same way that Maradona scored in 1986, we stand and watch in awe rather than get stuck in. Give us someone who can time a tackle correctly and who can 'hit' the attackers without always giving away a silly free-kick.
In addition, we don't seem to understand our strengths: Owen is lightening quick but not particularly tall - rather than hoof the ball upfield in the hope that he can run on to it, why can't we run at the Brazilians and play short sharp angular balls to slice the defence and give Owen half a chance?
Ronaldinho's goal was not "speculative". Or "lucky". Or "unintentional". It was brilliant, the best goal of the Cup. Don't blame Seaman for it.
Am I missing something? Am I the only one that thinks that the free kick was a cross that drifted back? Why did Beckham jump out of a tackle to cost us the first goal? Because he wasn't match fit and feared injury. Why were we outplayed with an extra man? Because we were not fit enough for the conditions on the day. It was a great shame as I think we all believed we could win this. Sven did everything he could - let's hope he stays.
Pete, Brit in Spain
A sad end to a very encouraging campaign. The course of the tournament changed in first half stoppage time. I believe the conditions finally got to us. The nation should be proud of the players and look forward to the future.
I am devastated that we are out of the World Cup. I really felt we had a chance this time, but Brazil just outclassed us. In the second half we just didn't look like we could win and going down to 10 men just made Brazil even more determined to hold on to the lead. I certainly don't blame David Seaman - he's been brilliant. I hope Brazil do go on to win - at least we can say we were beaten by the best in the world!
How could anyone blame Dave Seaman for this defeat? If he had tipped Ronaldinho's free kick over the bar, everyone would have hailed it as a great save. So why blame him if he failed to make it? If Owen makes a mistake, and fails to score, people would not blame him for defeat. This was one of Seaman's few mistakes in an England shirt, so do not blame him for our exit in what was a successful World Cup for England.
People who slag off Seaman are a disgrace and naive in the extreme. He's been more than a goalkeeper, he's been a rock back there keeping the defence organised. How many times has he done the business for us, I've lost count. Yes he should retire soon, but I for one am thankful for all he has done for us and will remember him for his years of solid service and not a freak goal!
Andy S, England
I am proud of our England boys and what they have achieved - well done lads. It won't feel so bad in a week's time.A big thanks to all the England fans out there as well - You did us proud.
Marina Bloomfield, England
England should try to learn playing football before going to a World Cup. I think that today Brazil gave the first lesson: football is played with the ball on the floor and not by non-objective deep balls.
Everybody in this country is devastated for David Seaman. It could not have happened to a better goalkeeper. Nobody would question his qualities. I would give credit to Ronaldinho. If David Beckham (and I am a Manchester United Supporter) had scored a goal like that, it would have been a great goal, so why not this one - everybody is talking about a lucky goal.
David Seaman should not blame himself for the goal. It was an incredible shot, and I can only imagine the difficulty he must have had playing having sustained that back injury earlier in the game. Aside from today's game he only conceded one goal in the tournament. How quick everyone has been to forget that.
Phill Tromans, UK
There is just no pleasing some people! Yes we didn't win but think just how well we have got. During qualifying we doubted our place in the World Cup, when the draw came out many feared we wouldn't even get out of the "Group of Death". After a poor show against Sweden in the second half critics were up in arms.
However with all of that, we have got to the World Cup, beaten world class opponents, lost to one of the best teams in the world but were in the last eight. Who would have thought before the tournament that we would do better than France, Argentina, Portugal and Italy? Show some dignity, because the squad worked hard in the blistering heat and put on some fine performances, the World Cup means just as much to them as it does to us!
Let's all calm down a bit. England surpassed expectations and deserve our congratulations. I thought today the conditions didn't suit them and they looked tired. 2-1 to Brazil is no shame.
Sean Tipton, England
So, Beckham and Sheringham think Seaman is the best goalie in the world?? He's not, Kahn's the best that's why Germany are still in the tournament and England are not.
A pathetic performance, only to be expected from the choice of negative players: the clueless cloggers in midfield - Butt, Scholes, etc when there are positive players on the bench. Owen is the only class we have and he's always subbed. Erickson needs to take a tip from Bruce Arena - attack with skill and heart - both evidently not there in the England squad. A LOAD of RUBBISH!
Dave Eastwood, USA
England were poor and never took control of the game. Whether that was down to the heat or just superior opposition is irrelevant. Once again we have to go back to the drawing board!
Why doesn't Seaman do the right thing, like Alan Shearer, and retire from international football before he costs England the European Championships in two years time.
Robert Box, England
Bad luck England, they give it their best shot. The country should be proud of the way theyve conducted themselves both on and off the field - well done!
A World Cup to remember for good reasons not bad! England fought they way out of the Group of Death and came up against a World Class side that will probably go on a win the 2002 World Cup.
Brazil just out played us, We reverted in the end to long balls instead of running at their defence. We did not hold our back line in and an easy goal finished our dreams.
England lost because they are a negative team. Each team must do what they are best at to win a game and England are better at defending than anything else - but it's not the way to win games. Expectation, arrogance and physical strength aren't going to win you World Cups and never will. Fundamentally England are an 'off the ball team' and Brazil are an 'on the ball team.'
Jimi McBain, Scotland
Firstly we have to listen to three weeks of how fantastic the England players are. Then when you get beaten you turn your players into villains and go on about that for weeks. Is it any wonder we love it when you get beat??
So, we lose and all the comments on Sports Talk is "there, there, never mind...you did your best". Well I'm sorry, but we did not do our best, we were pathetic. I assign blame for losing to the whole England squad. Winning is the only thing that matters. Period. Bye bye Sven, Beckham et al. Clean slate for 2004 and 2006.
Devastated we didn't qualify today. We have not lost, we have been a shining example throughout the tournament. There should be no blame, only a great sense of pride. England and all the team you were fantastic and we are all so proud of you
Giles, Hong Kong (but English...)
Before the World Cup we would have been satisfied with a last eight finish, but as the tournament progressed we started to believe we could win it. It¿s a massive disappointment but we're just not good enough at the highest level.
England lost every individual battle on the pitch. We seemed to lack heart and the real desire to win. Were we too afraid of them?
Ian Harrison, England
Even with one man down, Brazil played better than England.
Trapattoni could learn a thing or two from Sven about losing with dignity. Sven's comments about the Brazilians after the game were generous and showed good sportsmanship.
Will Smith, Birmingham
They are the best England team for many a year, and we should be celebrating that. Come on, be proud of them!
As expected, Brazil outclassed England. I never expected England to beat the mighty Brazil. Even with ten men, Brazil outplayed England. The luck that aided England suddenly ran out.
England could have done better but this is football. We should we proud of what they have done so far. Seaman has been an extremly good goal so he should not be blamed. Without him, England might not have come this far.
We need to mix in some of the fire that Ireland and South Korea (and Scotland) play with. The second half performance seemed to lack the passion and will to win. It's no disgrace to lose to Brazil, but I bet the boys know that this was a game they could and should have won.
Sven has done a great job to change England into a team that we at least expected to win.
In the 41st minute, when Seaman hurt his back, Sven ought to have taken a decision to replace Seaman with the back up goalkeeper (either one of them). With that serious fall, Seaman was not thinking straight or his focus could not have been straight from then on. This 'fall' seriously affected Seaman's performance.
Narottam Patel, UK
Seaman has been superb the whole tournament and should not be blamed for our exit. Without him we would have been out long ago. Head up Spunky!
The team played beyond most initial expectations and we should all be very proud of them, they are a young team and have a great future. Seaman is a fantastic England player and if it were not for his excellent saves against Sweden we probably would not have been playing today; its a team game they win as a team they lose as a team. Well done England!
The circulation of the ball was too slow. England missed good ideas from the beginning. The question is where was the extra energy when Brazil played with 10? England missed passion. Don't blame Seaman. It was a lucky goal
Peter Boer, Holland
Everyone remember that we got further than Italy, Argentina, Portugal and France.
Particularly France... they didn't even score a goal.
England were handed the game but failed to take advantage. They lacked conviction. I hope Brazil go on to win the competition.
Absolutely gutted! But take nothing away from the English boys, they tried their best. At this moment, just get behind them, don't slag off Heskey, don't slag off Beckham, they went for it ... Brazil are just a class above.
Dear England, thanks for some great moments.
As usual, people are very quick to assign blame and so this time it's fallen on the shoulders of David Seaman. The England team have played extremely well, and Seaman has been excellent. It's so disappointing that England are out of the World Cup now, but we should look forward to four years time and not blame Seaman.
The lads did well to qualify from the group but it would have been nice to go down fighting. The second half was poor. England looked like the team playing with ten men, not Brazil.
Matt Daniels, England
England shouldn't be too disappointed after a poor performance against a very good team in unfavourable conditions. Most English fans never expected the team to qualify for the World Cup around a year ago. With the likes of Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and others joining the established ranks, 2006 was always a more realistic target.
To make it into the last eight of the World Cup is a magnificent achievement and the England team deserve a warm welcome when they return.
Rob Owen, England
Seaman was not to blame and shouldn't really be criticised. The problem was that we didn't attack and put any pressure on the Brazilian defence. We just kept doing those stupid long balls and giving the ball away.
Sandy, I believe that the keeper did have a save to make.....and didn't. We overachieved this year for such a young side, and will win Euro 2004 when Lichtenstein qualify ahead of Scotland....
Jordan Peters, England
Gutted. We played one of our better games but it wasn't good enough against the talent and experience in the Brazilian team. I feel so sorry for Seaman after a great tournament for him. But... Brazil won't be in Portugal for Euro 2004, so bring it on!
It was Brazil's equaliser at the end of the first half that lost it for England - a real body blow, from which they never recovered. In the second half, England lost their self-belief. They just didn't look like half the side we know they are. Well done England for getting so far, but somehow we know this is a huge opportunity missed...
Both sides didn't play to their best, but Brazil were far better keeping the ball. Sven has the foundations of a good team for Euro 2004 and the next World Cup even with Kieren Dyer. Here's hoping Germany will also be flying home tomorrow!!
Paul Campbell, UK
Brazil seized the initiative going into the break by scoring so late on in the half; for a side of their ability and class it was the only incentive they needed to come out and punish us after the break.
They played posession football and defended us out of the game. It seems Brazil were willing to play out of character for the win and looked by far the better side in the second half. Unfortunately it was a much deserved victory.
Sammy K Black, England
England have done so well to even get into the World Cup. Remember - before Sven took over, England were written off of even qualifying for the tournament. Hopfully Sven will stay and I really feel we can win Euro 2004 and even the next World Cup in 2006!! Good luck to the lads. Also, thank you David Seaman for a fantastic time between Englands goalposts!!
Chris Anderson, England
England should be proud of our team. We overcame injury, the group of death, and have been knocked out having played gallantly against the world favourites in that heat.
Ollie Hough, United Kingdom
You have to take your hat off to Brazil, they played well and scored a great free kick. Well done Brazil - you deserved it!
Steve Hughes, UK
Please, lets not blame Seaman for our exit, he made some great saves today and was caught out by the kind of free kick we credit Beckham with as World Class. It was not a keeper error.
Like Freddy Mercury said: "We are the Champions!"
Nick White, England
Claudio Faria, Brazil
Well done England! Be happy with what you have achieved in this World Cup. Hopefully in four years time it will be both England and Scotland that qualify.
To be fair, we were always second best. Our goal only came from a disappointing pass by Heskey and a dreadful mistake by Lucio. Apart from that, we continued playing the long ball far too often. Brazil, on the other hand, were sublime going forward.
Geoff Baines, UK
We were beaten by an all round stronger team who are the best in the world. There is no shame in that no matter how much it hurts now and it definately does. We should give the boys a rewarding homecoming and start to build them up for 2004 and 2006.
Jason Newman, England
What went wrong ? The midfield. Just look at BBC's ratings. Defence was impressive, attack was excellent, but midfield was non-existent. Scholes falied to make an impact and Beckham played below par. And who were the others midfielders ? I can't even remember their names.
In the end, neither side played anywhere near their best. England deserved to lose on the day, because they failed to create to any chances in the second half against a 10 man team.
England were unlucky with the second goal, but in adversity, true champions rise to the challenge. Perhaps the players just did not believe in themselves enough.
England were too negative. The Brazilian goalkeeper didn't have a save to make throughout the game.
Do we have to listen to whining bitter Scots like Sandy who can never get over the fact that England are far superior to Scotland?
Unlucky England. Yes we lost, but lets take credit in the fact we are true footballers who do not have to result to diving and cheating like the likes of so called greats like Rivaldo. We will build upon this and succeed next time.
Jason Horsman, England
Brazil showed a side to their game you don't normally see, "defensive steel", apart from the Lucio error they restricted England to hopeful punts up-field. But England should be proud to have got this far.
Ok, England crashed out, and to be fair to the Brazilians, they were the better side. But before you all start slating England, just look how far England have come since Sven took over and guided us through an almost impossible position in our qualifying group, then got us out of the "Group of death" and gave the nation something to really cheer about.
Gary Harwood, England
Well done boys, unlucky, we'll do it in 2006, and above all we should be proud to be English, I know I am!
Dan Mason, England
The referee made a bad call and should have given the penalty shot. Sad to see that England lost. Brazil will probably go on to win the cup.
We were very unlucky. Seaman could have stopped Ronaldinho's free kick if he wasn't off his line. Owen should not have been substituted and England should have taken advantage of having an extra player.
Miguel Espinosa, USA
Neither the players nor Eriksson can be blamed. We are simply not good enough. Throughout the tournament we have had very few chances and have relied on our defence to hold firm. With these tactics we will never win anything.
It was always a tall order to beat Brazil, but Seaman must not be blamed for a supreme free kick. My man of the match was Danny Mills.
Alan Jones, England
Brazil with the weakest defence has gone through but suprisingly the best defence in the tournament is out. Is it not strange? Skills, ability and intelligence displayed by the Brazilians is too much for the English players.
There was nothing wrong with English players. They did all they could but Brazil is just better. Bravo Samba. Eriksson has managed to bring out the best from a poor set of players. He is a good coach.
Musonda Munshya, Zambia
Hard Luck England. Good performance overall, but at the end of the day it is not a world class side. A solid hard working team isn't going to win the World Cup.
The Brazilians were a fantastic side, The lads hung on, but lack of ball possession was our main disadvantage. Sven did wonders for the morale, but when it came down to it, England simply weren't good enough, roll on 2006
It was always a tall order to beat Brazil, but Seaman must not be blamed for a supreme free kick. My man of the match was Danny Mills.
Alan Jones, England
The lads wanted them to fall. Hea, Hea, Hea.We only lost 23-0 to Australia
England lacked that midfield pizazz and could not get anything going for Owen or Heskey. Even Owen's goal came from his strike partner. England still need a 'Gazza' like player. Step up Joe Cole. I thought England showed great character on the pitch and after the match - which is seldom seen these days. Well done England - you'll be back, no doubt about it!
John Cooper,Cook islands
We tried and we failed but we never stopped believing in our dream. We were and are united. Now we are out, all we want is for Germany to fail too. That would make my day!
Kathleen Fisher, England
Although we lost, I want to say well done to the England team, they got this far and they did well.
Jo Snow, England
The match was a bit of disappointment, not because England lost but because neither side played anything like as well as they are capable of.
We were found out. A team can only go so far with lots of effort and little skill. Take away Becks, Scholes, Ferdinand and Owen and you have a very ordinary team. It is a shame we sat back and watched them in the second half.
Norris Thompson, England
Quite simply our passing let us down today. We did not take advantage of Ronaldinho's unlucky dismissal and never looked threatening in the last 30 minutes. While it is frustrating to lose to a freak goal the result was fair.
Very disappointing performance by England, we did not deserve to win with that second half display. We reverted to the same tactics used against Sweden and got punished. Once again England failed to deliver in the World Cup when it really mattered.
The party is finally over. Were we lucky to get so far or were we really contenders for the cup? In the end, we were beaten by a tight Brazilian team who worked hard and played well. But, oh the mistakes we made to let in the two goals. Next time maybe.
Roly O'Connell, England
England did their best, that's all they could do. They should be grateful of how far they have got through this World Cup 2002. Well done to their efforts.
Mike Kane, United Kingdom
The England team played extremely well in the World Cup, and though I am disappointed today, I would like to congratulate the team for making the World Cup come alive for all of us in different parts of the world. Congratulations and thanks too to Mr. Sven Goran Eriksson - he has quietly led England so far in the World Cup - I wish we could have taken the trophy home!
Well sadly we were not good enough in the second half. Everything looked so good up and until the last few minutes of the first half, we soaked up all the pressure and were looking focused. The second half was played with a distinct lack of urgency, and despite being a man down Brazil always had a man on the overlap. On the positive side, there are a lot of young players out there and they can only learn from this experience and get better for Euro 2004 and Germany in 2006.
Imran Qureshi, England
OK so we go out, but with our heads held high. We made it past the 'group of death' and got beaten by the 'best' team in left in the competition.
As an English man I feel disappointed but optimistic that we can take this current team (with maybe the exception of Seaman due to his age) and win trophies both in 2004 and 2006. Mark these words, its not so long since we got beat by Germany at Wembley and then we were written off completely. You did us proud lads and we look forward to Sven's men marching into the next competitions.
Darren Toms, England
A very poor second half when we couldn't get hold of the ball cost us dear! The Brazilians weren't brilliant, they just did what we couldn't do, and keep the ball for a while.
They forgot where they were and who they were - 30 mins to go against ten men in the quarter finals of the world cup and wearing an England shirt ! I am gutted !
They simply were not good enough.
Nothing went wrong. We were simply beaten by a better team on the day. Looking on the positive side we ought to remember that 12 months ago were not even certain of qualifying, so to reach the quarter finals was hugely creditable.
I must say that England deserve to go out after that performance. It just goes to show that their luck has to run out sometime for an average side, with some fortune in their earlier matches. It is all well and good have a "decent defence" but without an attacking prescence, they are only half a team.
England have performed brilliantly throughout the World Cup. They are a credit to England so let's praise them and not say any nasty remarks.
Dawn Goodgame, England
How can Seaman be given 4 out of 10 for his performance? He played wel well and I do not think anyone would have been able to stop the goal as in all honesty it was not a shot but a cross. COME ON PORTUGAL 2004!
Shame. I thought they'd do it. One up after 20 mins & Brazil looked a bit shakey at times. The equaliser in extra time was depressing but sort-of expected ?
If only England could have played like they did against Argentina.Commiserations to the English, I for one was supporting England, and hoped you would win.You did British football proud, and have proved you have a world class team.
(I won't mention the ref.....!!)