I TAKE full responsibility for England’s capitulation last night, I had dared to dream.

One of the problems of getting an iPad for my birthday is that I can now keep in constant contact with the social networking sites. It is both a pleasure and a pain.

One by one I saw the Wanderers Twitterati give their optimistic predictions – Fabrice Muamba, Ivan Campo, even Stu Holden, all the way from his sofa in Delaware.

And then I felt myself type the words... Prediction: England to win, Wayne Rooney, 1-0.

From there on in, that pessimistic streak I had spent so long honing early on in the tournament was gone, and I reverted to the same giddy England fan who shed tears when Ronaldinho lobbed us out of the World Cup in 2002.

Early on, my prediction looked conservative. Quite how Johnson, Rooney and Welbeck didn’t convert their chances is anyone’s guess but at least the karma was equalled out by the equally wasteful Italians.

It could have been 3-3 after an hour but the moment both sides checked themselves in the mirror and realised all this cut and thrust was out of character, the game was only going one way.

It was never in doubt that these two teams would milk every last second of agony out of us fans, not least because the deadline swung over my colleagues in the office like the giant scythe in The Pit and the Pendulum.

Had Wayne Rooney connected with that overhead kick – like he did against United in “that” derby – then we’d all have been tucked up with our cocoa by 10pm.

As it is, I was still nursing a (medicinal) pint at midnight, reflecting on yet another penalty defeat.

I don’t know what it is about Englishmen and penalties, whether it’s the weight of history or an inherent national trait. But from the moment we headed towards pens, there was only one inevitable and depressing conclusion.

Gerrard and Rooney gave brief respite but when Pirlo produced a quite sublime effort, given the pressure, we were going only one way. Young, then Nocerino.

The lifeforce ebbed away from England’s stubborn resistance. Cole’s effort had predictability written all over it.

Diamanti – described as a West Ham reject by Guy Mowbray earlier in the night – ensured this Italian Job was one too far.