Analysis Mark Lawrenson 'Once a player shows the bottle to stepforward and take one (penalty) - it's actually hard to understand just how difficult it is until you have experienced that situation - then I don't think there can be any recriminations'.

There should be no recriminations. It's a heartbreaking way to lose any match, much less a knock-out game at the World Cup finals, but you must remember any match that is decided by penalties is a lottery of sorts. Players do require a bit of skill but it can be down to a little bit of luck. Some players volunteer to take a penalty in that situation prior to the start of a match but when the moment arrives can't bring themselves to do it.

Once a player shows the bottle to step forward and take one - it's actually hard to understand just how difficult it is until you have experienced that situation - then I don't think there can be any recriminations. The pressure in those situations is suffocating and there generally isn't a long queue of volunteers stepping forward.

Obviously, Ian Harte is going to take plenty of stick for missing the penalty during the match but I think he showed great mental steel to step forward; the easier option would have been for him to refuse to take it. I thought he played alright in the general course of things and while he might not have had a good World Cup in general he has toughed things out.

People will also dwell on the fact that Kevin Kilbane might have done a little better when following up Harte's penalty but it was a split-second reaction and you also need that little bit of luck. I hope that people remember yesterday's game and the whole World Cup campaign in general for what it was: a magnificent effort.

When you consider the group we were in when trying to qualify for the finals and then the one we faced in the tournament itself, it puts in perspective exactly what this squad of players and management team have achieved. Apart from the first 45 minutes against the Cameroon we have played some wonderful football.

In the second half against Cameroon and for the entire game against Germany we have played some magnificent football and arguably deserved more than the couple of points we got out of the two games. If people had been guaranteed five points from our three games in this tournament prior to the start of hostilities I don't think anyone would have refused them.

When you consider that by the end of yesterday's game and for the entire periods of extra time, Ireland had four strikers on the pitch while Camacho withdrew Raul and Morientes, it is a massive compliment to Ireland. We were trying to win the match right up until the final whistle, while I believe Spain were desperately hanging on for dear life and the "sanctuary" of a penalty shoot-out.

It's absolutely amazing to think that the Spanish would prefer the lottery situation of a penalty shoot-out because they were petrified of losing - and they were. We were so strong at the finish, as we have been in the games against Cameroon and Germany. It was always the other team looking for the final whistle.

It was a wonderful team effort but I have to pay special tribute to Damien Duff. I thought he was absolutely supreme. He took on defenders on the inside, the outside, on the right, and the left, showing great balance and pace. I thought his shot was going in. He has excelled on the world stage.

Shay Given was excellent, Robbie Keane, Steve Finnan, too, but in fairness, right throughout this campaign it has been the attitude and work-rate of all the players that got us to this stage of the competition. It is a little churlish to single out individuals when it was the collective team ethic that was the foundation for the results.

It should be recalled how the World Cup started for Ireland to put things in perspective. There were no winners only losers in the Roy Keane affair: the player himself, the team, the manager. Having started behind the black ball the management and squad showed tremendous resilience and character, playing excellent football in the process.

Having conceded a soft goal early on yesterday we gradually hauled ourselves into the game and although we diced with death at times in the first half, Given was there to bale the team out. In the second half, as we had done in the other games, we simply took over, pushed the Spanish team further and further back and that attitude was eventually rewarded.

Mick was a little unfortunate in having to use up one of his substitutions when Steve Staunton was injured, especially as Stan probably would have taken one of the penalties. But this was balanced by Kenny Cunningham's brilliant display when he was introduced. I wasn't surprised that David Connolly was brought on. Mick obviously thought he had been sharp in training and deserved his chance. He is very loyal to his players.

The most disappointing aspect of yesterday's game is that we deserved to win it, purely from a footballing perspective. But while there will be a few heavy hearts and sore heads this morning the management and squad deserve to be remembered for their magnificent achievements at this World Cup.

It was a remarkable effort and bodes well when the qualifying for the European Championships starts later this year.

In interview with John O'Sullivan