No quarter spared

So tonight's the night for England to show what they're capable of. I really don't think Portugal are that great, but England's left flank has been hopelessly exposed all the way through the tournament and there's still no genuine holding midfielder to play against Deco. Both teams are crap in the air.
The winners of this match will play either the Netherlands or Sweden, who play on Sunday. Portugal have rigged the tournament so that as long as they won their group they will always get maximum possible rest and their opponents would get the minimum. Ticket allocations have also been biased, with some games offering 9:1 ratios of support for one team or another, not just the hosts.
The French are up the swanny meanwhile, with the only player who gives balance to the side, Sagnol, out for the rest of the tournament and Vieira and Gallas also injured. This is likely to mean Thuram at full back and the return of Desailly, so any opposing centre forward will fancy his chances.
How could the World Cup semi-finalists be knocked out of the tournament by three teams that didn't even qualify for the tournament?