By Phil McNulty Our man with England

More match photos

David Beckham and Steven Gerrard were painted as England's 2004 standard-bearers, but they left the searing heat of Lisbon's Stadium of Light cast as the villains of a particularly grisly piece of football theatre.

But they must not stand alone in the dock.

Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson should join them after casting himself in the role of 'Tinkerman Two' with substitutions that require some fairly detailed explanation.

England captain Beckham missed the penalty that would surely have assured victory against France, before Gerrard committed the sort of error he is unlikely to repeat in his career.

With his concentration perhaps affected by Zinedine Zidane's injury-time equaliser, the Liverpool man sent Thierry Henry clear and provoked a desperate foul from David James.

Report: France 2-1 England

Zidane's successful spot-kick completed a turnaround only true champions can pull off, and no-one doubts France are in that category.

But it was a surreal end to a night that held so much promise and potential celebration for England's thousands of fans inside the palatial surroundings of Benfica's home.

Frank Lampard's header looked to have assured victory before Eriksson decided to apply a fix to a machine that didn't appear broken.

True temperatures were high and humidity intense, but his substitutions cast a mystifying pall over every post-match inquest.

Rooney has you moving closer to the edge of your seat every time he gets the ball - whether it is a potential yellow/red card or a moment of magic

Darius Vassell is a trusted England performer, but removing Michael Owen is always a high-risk strategy.

However, it was the decision to take off Wayne Rooney and send on Emile Heskey after 75 minutes that was most questionable.

Everton's brilliant teenager was tired according to Eriksson, but the 18-year-old certainly had a funny way of showing it.

Yes, he had run a marathon that had left him red-faced, but barely three minutes earlier, he had burned off Lilian Thuram in a sensational run half the length of the field that ended with a foul by Mikael Silvestre and Beckham's missed penalty.

Irrespective of Heskey's clumsy challenge that led to Zidane's equaliser, it was hard to justify.

Rooney delivered one of those captivating seat-of-the-pants performances that has you moving closer to the edge of your seat every time he gets the ball - whether it is a potential yellow/red card or a moment of magic.

Eriksson must surely regret that decision.

Plenty of positives

The tinkering backfired and France, who do not have to be given an inch to take a mile, delivered the killer blows.

For mugged England, it was desperate, but it would also be wrong to tell this as a tale of gloom and doom.

Especially not when you are within two minutes of beating the best team in the world.

Tottenham's Ledley King did himself proud alongside the immense Sol Campbell, showing a maturity and steady nerve some of us doubted.

David James was not seriously troubled until that bitter end, with England's two banks of four forming an effective shield against France's attacking threat.

And the central midfield partnership of Frank Lampard and Gerrard, very much a work in progress, also showed signs of development.

The closing seconds came as a heavy punch on the nose for England, but it is not a knockout blow Eriksson upbeat despite defeat

Gerrard played a very responsible role until his last-minute aberration, while Lampard's progressive attitude took him into attacking situations and a headed goal from a set-piece.

England, as a team, showed huge resilience and fitness in fierce and sapping conditions, while in Owen and Rooney they have the players to terrorise Switzerland and Croatia.

The left-flank problem remains, to some extent unsolved, with Paul Scholes understandably almost unable to resist the temptation to drift inside.

Ashley Cole was often left badly exposed, and on occasion Owen was actually left to do the tracking back and help out. More work needed here but certainly worth another try against the Swiss.

The closing seconds came as a heavy punch on the nose for England, but it is not a knockout blow and the attitude of the players as they filed out was positive and defiant.

England battle on and fortunately have time to learn the lessons.