We have to start with England, where else? For me, the decision not to take five recognised, fully fit strikers to Germany remains the major reason for yet another English failure. Frankly, Sven-Goran Eriksson's squad selection has to rank alongside Alf Ramsey's ill-fated substitutions against Germany at the 1970 World Cup as one of the worst decisions ever taken by an English manager.

My information is that Eriksson was in doubt right up until the very last moment about his squad choice. In the end, he made that crazy decision to choose Theo Walcott, a 17-year-old with no Premiership let alone international experience whatsoever.

On top of that, he gambled heavily in bringing one injured striker in Wayne Rooney and one recovering from injury in Michael Owen.

In the end, both gambles backfired. It soon became clear in training that Walcott was so far off the pace at this level he simply could not be risked. In the end, as we know, he did not play at all.

On top of that Owen broke down against Sweden in exactly the way players coming back from injuries tend to break down, whilst Rooney, even if he more or less recovered his match fitness, had only Peter Crouch left as a strike partner.

Mind you, even Crouch alongside Rooney might have been a better call against Portugal. Rooney suffered greatly in his Lone Ranger role and, given he has a history of blowing his fuse when he gets frustrated, his sending-off was not a total surprise.

The point, though, is that Eriksson should not have put himself into the position where he had only Crouch left to play alongside Rooney.

As for the sending-off, I don't think it was a good decision by Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo. Rooney did stamp on defender Ricardo Carvalho but the referee did not see that. What he saw was the push that Rooney gave to Cristiano Ronaldo and he sent him off for that. The wink Ronaldo flashed across at his bench after the sending-off would make you think the Portuguese had made such a possibility part of their game-plan. I imagine Ronaldo told coach Felipe Scolari about Rooney, his temperament and how he could be pushed over the edge. And over he duly went.

I'm not surprised to hear post-match reports that Ronaldo is looking to leave Manchester United and move elsewhere next season. Given his squabble with Rooney and its consequences, to say nothing of the fact he struck the winning penalty, he will hardly receive a warm welcome back in the Premiership next August if he does stay at Old Trafford.

I thought the England-Portugal quarter-final ended up as a poor match between two ordinary teams. The most damning thing about England is they played better when they were reduced to 10 men. They had more urgency, rhythm and passion when they were outnumbered, and that in itself says something about their mistaken approach not just to Saturday's game but to the entire World Cup tournament.

It is no coincidence, too, that England's best period came when ex-captain David Beckham was off the field. At this point in his career, Beckham is almost like one of those American football specialist players you bring on just for free kicks and corner kicks. In Germany, Aaron Lennon offered a lot more and after the good impression he made when brought in against Trinidad and Tobago in the first round, he should have been in the team from then on.

Eriksson should have dropped Beckham, if not for Lennon, then for Steven Gerrard, given that the Liverpool captain can play just fine out on the right if necessary. That, however, was too big a decision for Eriksson.

What now for England under Steve McClaren? He has been helped by Beckham's decision to call it a day as England captain. As a statement of intent - and as a good PR move - McClaren should make John Terry his new captain and fill his first squad full of strikers. He does not need to drop Beckham but he could send another strong signal by opting to play Gerrard on the right, in the process resolving the Lampard-Gerrard midfield dualism. Choices like that would send a whole different message to the English public.

As for the other games, Argentina lost their nerve when winning against Germany, Brazil were, not surprisingly, found wanting in defence against a revived France, and Italy are looking stronger all the time. Italy v France, for me, in the final.