BRITAIN: The Samaritans were on standby yesterday as England's hope of World Cup glory died in Japan's Shizuoka Stadium in the foothills of Mount Fuji. The charity, which helps people suffering emotional torment or contemplating suicide, said England's defeat at the hands of Brazil could trigger calls from those already suffering depression or distress.
By 9.30 a.m., hope finally gave way to despair for fans of the England team. For 46 minutes England's supporters - from Aldershot to Accringham to Afghanistan - had dared believe David Beckham's warriors could facedown mighty Brazil. In London, the Mall and Buckingham Palace were again engulfed in patriotic fervour as 13,000 fans who gathered under Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square celebrated Michael Owen's superb opening goal.
In sitting rooms and school halls across the country, a television audience estimated at 30 million began to dream of Bobby Moore all over again. In pubs, a further five million prepared to party through the longest day into what promised to be a still-longer night.
But Rivaldo and Ronaldinho had other plans. Their goals just either side of half-time spectacularly turned the tide, leaving England to chase for possession the Brazilians were determined to keep. And, at the end, David Seaman - England's veteran safe pair of hands - was inconsolable for having allowed that 49th minute, 30-yard free kick to sail over his head and into the net for what would prove the decisive moment in this quarter-final.
The goalkeeper wept, and a nation wept with him, as David Beckham - who was turned into a national hate figure after his sending off in the 1998 match against Argentina - warned it would be a disgrace if anyone sought to scapegoat "the best goalkeeper in the tournament" over what had been "a freak goal". Mr Tony Blair echoed that message, too, as he and coach Sven-Goran Eriksson savoured a better-than-expected overall performance by England's young team and turned their thoughts to the European championships in two years.
As Brazil's supporters celebrated - the real ones in London's Oxford Street, their fellow-countrymen-for-the day in Scotland and Republican Belfast - it was left to the Prime Minister to speak for England if not for the United Kingdom.
"We are all devastated" he confessed at the European summit in Seville. And, for once, nobody could have accused him of spinning.