Portugal survived a brutal foul-fest with the Netherlands, one of the dirtiest matches in World Cup history. Cleats bashed into thighs and shoulders, heads butted and elbows flew.

Players faked injuries, complained and brawled.

Every bit as ugly: the blaming and finger-pointing that came after Portugal's 1-0 win Sunday, a victory that cost it two starters for its upcoming quarterfinal match with England, who beat Ecuador 1-0 earlier.

"FIFA talks about fair play," Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said. "There was no fair play."

The Dutch coach, Marco Van Basten, shot back:

"If you talk about fair play, you should watch yourself first," adding that the Portuguese needed the shenanigans to beat his young team.

"They were a bit more experienced with all these tricks and all this time wasting," he said.

But when it came to expulsions, the sides were level at 2-2. That raised the number of red cards in this tournament -whose motto is "A time to make friends"- to 23, already a World Cup record after 52 matches with 12 to go.

It also means the Portuguese face England minus Deco and Costinha, two key starters who were ejected amid the pushing, shoving and theatrics that left both teams with nine men by the end.

Portugal also lost Cristiano Ronaldo, a creative attacker, who came off with a leg injury from a second harsh foul. His status was still uncertain.

"Cristiano has five, six days to recover. We hope he will recover," said Scolari, who extended his World Cup record mark to 11 straight victories amid the chaos. The Brazilian led his home country to the 2002 title.

The 16 yellow cards Sunday tied a World Cup match record, with nine for Portugal and seven for the Netherlands.

But the difference in the game was a beautiful goal by Maniche in the 23rd minute that came off a quick threat on the edge of the area. Pauleta touched the ball to Maniche, who skipped inside a defender and shot right-footed past goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar from 16 yards.

After that, the bile began to rise, and the best the Dutch could do in reply was send cross after cross. Veteran midfielder Phillip Cocu sent a volley crashing on the bar and out again in the 48th minute.

"It is sad there was so little soccer played in the second half," said Van Basten.

With star striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy sidelined for tactical reasons, his replacement Dirk Kuyt came close twice, but not close enough.

"We didn't have the luck to score goals," said Van Basten, who lost his first competitive game since taking the job after the Netherlands lost to a Maniche goal in the semifinals of Euro 2004.

"Our missed opportunities, that made the difference," said Van der Sar.

The Netherlands also lost two players to red cards from Russian referee Valentin Ivanov: Khalid Boulahrouz and Giovanni van Bronckhorst. In the end, the one thing both sides could agree on was blaming Ivanov.

"It is a pity the referee made a mess of this game," van Basten said.

Amid the expulsions, the Portuguese held together better than the Dutch.

"From the start of the tournament our great strength has resided in our unity and the great support of the whole country," said Figo.

First, Van der Sar produced a stunning save on a point-blank shot from Pauleta in the goalmouth. Moments later, Costinha inexplicably handled a simple through pass for his second yellow card.
By that time, Ronaldo was already in tears on the bench after he left the field injured following an ugly, high tackle into his groin from Boulahrouz.

It set up a thrilling second half, with an outmanned Portugal facing a Dutch team still looking for its touch.

In the 63rd, however, Boulahrouz elbowed the irrepressible Figo on another run, earning his second yellow card.

Deco later lost his poise and first made a wild tackle on defender John Heitinga and followed it up with childish timewasting in the 76th minute to be sent off by referee Valentin Ivanov.

In injury time, Van Bronckhorst was sent off for a second yellow card, making it nine-on-nine for the final seconds. The Barcelona teammates sat together in the dugout to watch the finale.

Beckham's goal lifts England over Ecuador

In Stuttgart, Beckham curled a trademark 25-yard free kick just inside the post in the 60th minute, his first goal for England in nearly 15 months and the lone highlight in an otherwise ugly 1-0 victory over Ecuador.

A few minutes later, he vomited on the field because of dehydration, and left the match in the 87th minute.

"The last two days I've been struggling, even in training," Beckham said.

Then he recounted what teammate Wayne Rooney had told him to give him a lift: "Wazza said to me before the game, 'You've been terrible the last two days, so you're going to get one tonight.'"

While Beckham is soccer's best-known player, he is far from the best, a 31-year-old midfielder criticized for his lack of defense and inability to score from the run of play.

But his status as a cultural icon has grown in his decade with England, especially since his marriage to pop star Victoria Adams, formerly known as Posh Spice. He has opened a soccer academy in California, and he is considering ending his career in the U.S. with Major League Soccer.

His goal ended a 13-match scoreless streak dating to a World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan on March 30, 2005.

For England, the wait was worth it.

"Obviously, Becks is crucial," teammate Owen Hargreaves said.

Before Beckham's goal, the English surrendered chances to Ecuador and missed a few of their own. The game finally turned when Edwin Tenorio fouled Frank Lampard outside the penalty area, giving England the free kick.

The English captain, whose darting shots inspired the 2003 movie titled Bend it Like Beckham, snatched the ball from the referee, lined up his planned trajectory and sent the ball spinning and twisting toward the goal.

It hooked ever so carefully over a defensive wall of four Ecuadoreans in bright yellow shirts and dipped toward the corner. Goalkeeper Cristian Mora dived to his right and caught a piece of it with his fingertips, but couldn't stop it from grazing the post and squirting into the net.

"He proved his worth today," teammate Rio Ferdinand said.

Becoming the first Englishman to score in three World Cups, Beckham ran wildly toward the center of the field, hooking an arm around Ashley Cole. Adams, the focus of television cameras, jumped up in the stands.

"I have stopped saying anything to the critics about David Beckham," England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said. "He's maybe the best player on set pieces in the world, and he's still criticized."

Despite the heat and muggy weather, Beckham oddly switched from short sleeves to long at halftime, and left late in the game despite feeling better.

"We've got to overcome this because there will be other days like this," Beckham said. "We make things hard for ourselves. We don't keep the ball as well as we can do."

Beckham's goal was just his 17th in 93 international appearances, but one sure to be included on the tournament's highlights.

Ecuador coach Luis Fernando Suarez, whose team had advanced beyond the opening round for the first time, said he was proud of his team's accomplishment in the face of an overwhelming favorite.

"An extremely complicated match," Suarez said. "It was decided as I expected, either on a dead ball or a genius move. All the credit is for the person who kicked it. My men did not fail."

"I didn't know he was feeling bad before the game," Eriksson said. "He didn't tell me, that's for sure."

After the final whistle, Beckham walked out to wave at the England supporters who sang "Football's Coming Home," the theme of the 1996 Euro Championship it hoped to win but never did.

"We will take this, although I don't think it was good football at times," Beckham said. "Tonight we can go home very happy."

The crowd of 52,000 in Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion was about 90 percent English supporters in white and red, many waving the Cross of St. George flag. The familiar tune of "Rule, Britannia!" was repeatedly sung.

There was no word of immediate fan violence in Stuttgart after the match, though police had to deal with trouble in the city center a day earlier- as often is the case when England plays.

About 500 were arrested Saturday in Stuttgart, and all but few were English. Approximately 1,800 officers patrolled the streets, including British law enforcement, to help police an estimated 50,000 English fans.

Ecuador's Carlos Tenorio had the first good scoring chance in the 12th minute when defender John Terry's attempt at a clearing header popped up in the air behind him. Tenorio, one-on-one against goalkeeper Paul Robinson, settled the ball, and his right-footed shot deflected off a sliding Cole and off the crossbar.

"I thought the ball was going in," Tenorio said. "If the play ends up being a goal, the course of the match would have been very different.

England didn't mind winning ugly.

"Results win tournaments. Performances don't," Ferdinand said. "If we get a good performance, fantastic, that's what we aim for. But if it doesn't happen and we get the result, who's going to cry about that?"

(AP via China Daily June 26, 2006)