England played their perfect game. Frank Lampard had headed in a David Beckham freekick on the 38th minute. The English defence had soaked up everything France had thrown at them for ninty minutes. The hard-fought win was complete. But then absolute horror struck in extra-time.

A foul by Emile Heskey at the stroke of extra time handed Zinedine Zidane a free kick just outside of the English penalty area. Bang. Zizou delivers a perfect curling shot into the corner of David James’ net. One all. Then only two minutes after depriving England of a dream start to Euro 2004, Steven Gerrard—who it has to said produced a consumate performance in midfield all game—struck a bizarre back pass to James that sent the most deadly striker in the world, France’s Thierry Henry, through on goal. David James could hardly be faulted for bringing Henry down in the area and before you knew it—Bang Bang—Zidane placed the penalty kick past a hapless James and broke England’s back.

Mon Dieu.

The Missed Penalty

Compounding the damage to English hearts is the failed penalty kick that may have salted away France’s chances of earning a positive result. English striker Wayne Rooney had won a penalty on the 73rd minute by charging into the French penalty area and forcing french defender Mikael Silvestre to foul him. The subsequent spot kick was supposed to be David Beckham’s opportunity to seal the win for England. Instead, waist high and not smartly tucking towards a corner, Beckham’s spot kick was perfectly blocked by Fabian Barthez—ol’ baldy once again showing why he can still be considered one of the world’s premier goalkeepers. At the time, the lost goal was disappointing. Now, in retrospect, that miss is absolutely crushing.

Don’t Bother Making Sense of It

Defensively, England were rock solid. Deputizing at centerback for the injured John Terry, Ledley King made all the tackles and clearances asked of him. In response to Lampard’s opening goal, France took charge of the second half but were never able to seriously threaten from open play. The French midfield consistently advanced into the English half, but were not able to generate any stellar scoring opportunities inside the England eighteen yard box. Henry and his attacking compatriot, David Trezeguet, were well-starved of clever passes to finish. Instead, France had to rely on Zidane’s heroics and a bizarre penalty to nullify England’s complete performance. There’s really not much more to be said for it. The last four minutes of this match were extraordinary for Les Bleus and heartbreaking for The Three Lions.

Oi.