Beckham consoles distraught Seaman.

By John Curtis, PA Sport, Shizuoka

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A distraught and tearful David Seaman has apologised to the nation after his blunder saw England crash out of the World Cup.

Seaman was caught out by a floated second half free-kick from Ronaldinho which flew over his head from 35 yards out to hand Brazil a 2-1 victory.

The Arsenal goalkeeper was in tears at the final whistle and, while his team-mates applauded the England fans, he was hugged by goalkeeping coach Ray Clemence.

Then the 38-year-old, after what is certain to be his final World Cup match, again broke down when he tried to talk to the media.

Seaman has defied his critics and been one of the stars of the tournament for England but that was scant consolation for the player.

He said; "It is very hard to take but that's just life as a goalkeeper. The main thing is I want to say sorry to the fans."

Seaman then choked back the tears with his head bowed before also saying: "I want to say sorry to the people I've let down today. That's just the way it goes."

It will be sad if Seaman's 73rd appearance for his country - 14 years after his debut - is the way he is remembered after such sterling service.

He will be approaching his 41st birthday when the 2004 finals are held in Portugal.

But England players believe that Seaman, who was also a member of the 1990 World Cup squad, has nothing to be ashamed of.

Teddy Sheringham, the second oldest member of the squad after Seaman, said: "David could be upset but it is not his fault. Things like that happen. In my opinion he is still the world's best.

"As for myself and David, we don't know if this will be our last chance. You never know what happens and we will see."

Sol Campbell knows that England have surrendered a golden chance to reach their first final since their 1966 triumph.

He said: "This was going to be our hardest match. if we had won this match, we would have had an easy route to the final. Still, there will be plenty more chances to come."