#9: déjà vu

England lost in a penalty shoot-out. It was 1998 and 2004 all over again. There was a sense of inevitability as I watched the game .... the lack of ingenuity on the plays compounded by a dubious red card, an Argentine "hand", and the "super-stars" of England shanking their penalty kicks.

The "world's best" were expected to deliver on the world's grandest arena, and they did not even show up. It's results not reputation, performance not promise – that win games.

So my World Cup ends with the usual heartbreak. I am more upset that the "Three Lions" bowed out without much of a whimper (forget the roar). This might just have been their best chance in generations.

PS: England's football team gets its nickname Three Lions from the official coat of arms.