Here we go again; across the length and breadth of the country, there begins a search for guilty parties.

Aston Villa striker Darius Vassell will become the mascot of England's newest penalty blow-out while Swiss referee Urs Meier will see the Great British tabloids earn their reputation first hand.

The distraught features of Vassell, tearful after a missed spot kick which was artificially decisive in the 6-5 shoot-out defeat to Portugal, make a powerful image; Meier will never be allowed to forget his decision to erroneously disallow a Sol Campbell goal in the closing seconds of normal time.

Apportioning blame is a true English strength – certainly more so than penalties – and the nation traditionally produces its best work after a dramatic tournament exit.

Meier will be roundly denounced, as will Lady Luck after a first-half injury to Wayne Rooney which changed the shape of the Euro 2004 quarter-final, and there will be a nationwide enquiry into the penalty spot's soil composition.

But England - the players, the fans, the newspapers and the FA – should experiment with self-criticism after defeat at the Estadio da Luz.

David Beckham is no longer Goldenballs after missing his penalty, the first kick of the shoot-out, but the England captain has a wealth of cause for regret.

Beckham had, by his standards, a poor tournament, but even media deities are not infallible; the frustration stems from input rather than output.

Another of the `Famous Five', Michael Owen, had similarly failed to make an impression in Group B but never ceased trying; even his goal against Portugal was a piece of brilliance preceding two tireless but unremarkable hours' play.

Beckham has lacked the same application; his profile suggests a player of peerless talent but the Real Madrid midfielder has never been comparable to the world's most gifted performers.

Rather, he is a supreme natural athlete and exceptional crosser whether from a dead ball or in open play; too often this summer he has been looking to release strikers with a 60-yard ball for the cameras rather than a whipped cross in the final third.

The penalty miss is excusable, though less so than Vassell who at least forced a save from Ricardo, but his part in Helder Postiga's equaliser is not.

Portugal winger Simao was afforded far too much time to deliver his cross from the right as Beckham and Gary Neville looked on; the England captain at his best is terrific in such situations, using his exceptional energy levels to compensate for other shortcomings.

Those languid attempts at intercepting Simao's pass, coupled with a lack of concentration from Postiga's marker John Terry, cost the goal and probably a semi-final meeting with Sweden or the Netherlands.

This is not, of course, to say Beckham is largely responsible for elimination but, for the first time in national colours, he seemed too willing to believe his own press.

This lack of thought and effort was indicative of England's overall performance; much has been made of Rooney's fearlessness and natural instincts and it is remarkable how much an otherwise experienced line-up missed the precocious teenager's wisdom.

With the exception of a good second half against Croatia, Steven Gerrard endured a very poor summer; it is to be hoped that either Rafael Benitez or Jose Mourinho can improve his economy against the elite.

The introductions of Owen Hargreaves, and, in particular, Phil Neville, further weighted the midfield four towards industry from ingenuity and Sven Goran Eriksson's ample salary will be the subject of yet closer inspection.

Spain, Italy and Germany were all eliminated after trying and failing to defend one-goal leads for long periods but Eriksson failed to ackowledge the trend.

The decision to replace Rooney with Vassell was in itself bizarre since the Villa player went to Portugal in the role of Owen understudy but the removal of Paul Scholes for Neville was repeating the follies of Inaki Saez, Giovanni Trapattoni and Rudi Voller.

Time and again English teams are eliminated from European club competition for their lack of judgement; Porto have this season delivered a master class in intelligent knockout strategy, proving too good for Manchester United along the way, because Mourinho understands that possession of the ball is possession of on-field power.

The hour-long spectacle of Scholes-less England launching mindless clearances for Owen and Vassell to contest with Jorge Andrade and Ricardo Carvalho was an exhausting one, not least because we have seen it all before.

Portugal enjoyed the overwhelming majority of chances because they retained possession until they could best make use of it; England created pitifully little because they lacked invention and courage on the field and in the dug-out.

The colossal Campbell's 'goal' should have counted but the victory would have been ill-deserved after playing without distinction for long periods.

Rooney's injury was unfortunate but what kind of prospective European champions rely entirely on an 18-year-old?

The disintegrating penalty spot is an exemplary case of 'the same for both sides'; Portugal simply coped better.

England is historically tireless and willing in seeking excuses - this time they needn't search too far from home.