Round of 16 Portugal end Van Persie Cup dream
Date: 18-07-2006 13:09
 Robin van Persie's World Cup dream ended on Sunday night when Holland lost a bad-tempered clash with Portugal in Nuremberg.
The Arsenal forward had his moments, notably in the 37th minute when he left two defenders floundering with a superb dummy inside the box before flicking a shot just wide of the far post.
By then Portugal were ahead after Maniche - who netted the winner when the teams met at Euro 2004 - finished expertly from Pauleta's pass in the 23rd minute.
The game was equally memorable for the four red cards dished out by Russian referee Valentin Ivanov.
Portugal's Costinha was dismissed on the stroke of half time and he was followed down the tunnel in the second half by team-mate Deco plus Dutch defenders Khalid Boulahrouz and Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
"We’re on our way home now, and we’re all very disappointed about not getting through," Van Persie said after the match. "We weren’t the weaker team. The most important thing was the support we received from our fantastic fans."
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