Portugal clinch consolation prize

By Andrew Haslam at the Stade Gaston Petit

Portugal clinched third place in the UEFA European Under-17 Championship finals with a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory against England in Châteauroux after a remarkable game had finished 4-4 after extra time.

Dramatic win
Misses from James Walker, Levi Porter and David Wheater proved decisive and, although Hélder Barbosa also failed from the spot for Portugal, successful kicks from Bruno Gama, Rui Gomes and João Silva earned a 3-2 victory and a place in the 2005 UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup.

Noble suspended
England captain Mark Noble was suspended having been dismissed in conceding the last-minute penalty from which Cesc sent Spain into the final, and coach John Peacock made three alterations in all, Nathan Doyle, Joe Lewis and Walker coming into the team. Carlos Dinis made five changes following the 2003 winners' semi-final exit at the hands of France.

Lourenço strikes
The game was an open encounter from the start, with both sides making full use of the expansive pitch. Portugal took the lead in the 14th minute with a well-worked goal, Lourenço breaking through on the left-hand side and drilling a low shot across Lewis and into the bottom corner.

Two-goal cushion
It was 2-0 ten minutes later, João Silva doubling Portugal's lead with a spectacular strike from distance. The deficit was halved almost immediately, however, as Kyel Reid's low free-kick caused confusion and Walker reacted quickest to prod in.

Reid relish
Five minutes after half-time England were level. Fraizer Campbell's powerful burst won a free-kick 25 metres from goal, and Reid's low left-footed strike curled beyond Ricardo Janota to nestle in the bottom corner of the net.

Gama glee
The goal galvanised England and Walker and Billy Jones both had presentable opportunities, but Portugal were back in front a minute before the hour. Gama collected possession on the edge of the penalty area and burst into the box before shooting low into the corner of the net.

England equaliser
A seesaw encounter was all square again three minutes later. Reid's shot was blocked, and the ball dropped perfectly for Mark Davies to send a looping header just under the crossbar. England looked the more likely scorers as the match moved towards full-time, with Campbell heading wide from a corner and Reid twice going close in the final minutes of normal time.

Red for Roberts
Campbell had two more opportunities in the first period of extra time, but England ended the half with ten men as Gary Roberts was shown the red card for a late tackle on João Pinhal.

Scoring sequence
Despite the numerical disadvantage Peacock's side went ahead for the first time with three minutes left of the second half of extra time. Reid burst strongly into the penalty area only to be brought down by Cristiano Gomes and Walker kept his composure to sidefoot in from the spot. Barely a minute later it was 4-4, Silva controlling a long ball and shooting low into the net to set up the penalty drama.

Fighting spirit
"Overall, I think we played quite well," Dinis said. "We controlled the match. We made a number of individual mistakes and that might have cost us, but we showed a lot of spirit. We also qualified for the Meridian Cup, which is very important."

English anguish
"It's a very disappointing end to the tournament for us," said Peacock. "we came into the match into a positive frame of mind and hoped that we could clinch third place and play in the Meridian Cup, which is very important for the players' development. I'm sure the spectators thoroughly enjoyed it, but we defended poorly."