Sunday 27 June 2010 22.30 BST
One of the most controversial(有争议的) moments of England's football history came back to bite the players of the present generation tonight as they were eliminated from(从……排除) the 2010 World Cup after losing 4-1 to Germany in the second round.
Trailing(在比赛中输) by two goals to one towards the end of the first half, a chance to draw level(打成平手) was denied when Frank Lampard's shot cannoned(与……猛撞) down off the underside of the German crossbar(横梁) and landed a couple of feet behind the goal-line before bouncing(弹起来) back up, hitting the bar again and spinning(旋转) into the goalkeeper's arms. The linesman(边裁), Mauricio Espinosa of Uruguay, gave no sign that the ball had crossed the line, and play was waved on by the referee(裁判员), his compatriot(同胞) Jorge Larrionda.
Forty-four years ago, when England and Germany were still level at 2-2 in extra time(加时) in a World Cup final, Geoff Hurst was awarded a goal for a similar effort. The Germans have always claimed that the whole of the ball was not over the line, as the game's laws stipulate(规定), and generations of scientific advances – including satellite technology – have been annexed in an attempt to clarify(澄清) the matter, which has never been definitively settled.
Not that England could claim to have deserved any other result. Germany came to South Africa with their youngest squad since the 1930s and their play was full of freshness, verve(热忱，活力) and mutual understanding – all the things their opponents, despite their greater experience, have been lacking for years. The supposedly lucky red strip counted for nothing as England's representatives were caught flat-footed time and again by players who moved between them like white-clad dancers.
At the end Wayne Rooney trudged off(疲劳地走) with the shirt belonging to Thomas Müller, the scorer of two of Germany's goals and the recipient of the official man of the match award. Müller will not be 21 until September, and like several other team members he could be found this time last year in the team that trounced(使大败) England 4-0 in the European under-21 championships.