Special: FIFA WORLD CUP GERMANY 2006>>>

England rushed into the top eight as skipper David Beckham lived up to him fame at the Gotttlieb-Daimler stadium with his trademark free kick helping England beat Ecuador 1-0.(Photo: sina)

Portugal survived a stormy encounter equalling the World Cup record for bookings against the Netherlands here on Sunday to set up a quarterfinal clash with England who edged Ecuador 1-0 earlier the day.

Holding a first half lead, the Portuguese beat the Dutch 1-0 to reach their first World Cup quarterfinals in 40 years after both sides were reduced to nine men with the price of Costinha and Decobeing suspended against England and Cristiano Ronaldo doubtful after being injured.

Russian referee Valentin Ivanov flashed 16 yellows to both sides and sent off two from each on second marks while the match went to brink and had been interrupted for 10 minutes in total.

The air turned burning in the dying seconds of the first half stoppage time when Portugal's Costinha, booked earlier for a foul on Phillip Cocu, was sent off after picking up a second yellow card deservedly for a deliberate handball.

Eighteen minutes into the second half, Holland's Khalid Boulahrouz received his second yellow card for a foul on Luis Figoto make it 10 men apiece.

On the 78th minute, Portugal's Deco picked up a second booking for time-wasting after the Barcelona midfielder picked up the ballat a Dutch free-kick. He was booked for a reckless lunge on JohnnyHeitinga just five minutes ago.

Four minutes into the stoppage time, the Netherlands were also cut to nine men as Giovanni van Bronckhorst was shown his second yellow, and a red for a foul on Tiago. It was the fourth sending off, a new record in the tournament, and the 16th yellow card, equalling the record.

England rushed into the top eight as skipper David Beckham lived up to him fame at the Gotttlieb-Daimler stadium with his trademark free kick helping England beat Ecuador 1-0.

The Real Madrid icon curled in a free-kick over the wall from the left flank in the 60th minute, as keeper Cristian Mora reached his fingertips to the ball, but was unable to keep it out off the right post.

"It was a great feeling to get a goal and put us through the quarter-final," said Beckham, who became the first England player to score at three World Cups.

"I didn't feel well before the game but I thought I would be fine and in the first half I felt fine, but the sickness continued in the second half and it just came out," said the England captain.

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson believes his 4-5-1 formation was justified by saying "I think it worked - the formation,"

"We should have scored more goals but I am rather happy that we are in the quarter-finals again," Eriksson added.

"It was an ugly performance but it was what we wanted and we'll take ugly performances," added the England captain.

"We have not performed as well as we can do but it will come later," added Beckham.

Chelsea midfielder Maniche made the breakthrough for Portugal in 23 minutes after a sluggish start for the Portuguese as the 29-year-old picked up the ball from Pauleta, sidestepped to the right and hammered a right-foot shot past Dutch keeper Edwin Van Der Sar.

It has also been Machine who scored to dump Holland out of the 2004 European Championships in a semifinal clash in Lisbon.

Portuguese celebration, however, was snapped on the 34 minute when Cristiano Ronaldo was forced to leave the pitch with an injured leg sustained in a ball-control challenge and was substituted by Sabrosa Simao.

Before the Portuguese opened the scoring, both sides, rated highly as two European heavyweights, bore a dull showdown despite a terrific start for the Netherlands.

The Dutch have showed their teeth in less than one minute into the match, as Mark van Bommel's shot from 20 meters, set up by a nice effort from Arjen Robben and Dirk Kuyt, flied narrowly wide.

But the match went into a sluggish style, and neither team put real challenges to their opponents.

Van Der Sar, now the most capped player in Dutch football history on his 113th appearance, even risked a blunder at 13 by letting the ball slip under his foot before he recovered to clear.

Holland went close to an equalizer in 49 minutes when Phillip Cocu got a rebounds off Nuno Valente and slammed it against the underside of the bar before the ball bounced down and out to safety.

Just two minutes later, Mark van Bommel fractioned a shooting opportunity and drove in the ball before Ricardo tipped it just around the post, as Holland stated their intent early on.

Editor: Donald