Bruno Fernandes has apologised to Jamie Carragher after bringing up the former Liverpool defender's infamous penalty miss for England against Portugal at the 2006 World Cup. During an appearance on The Wayne Rooney Show, the Manchester United captain recalled celebrating as a boy when Carragher's spot-kick was saved by goalkeeper Ricardo, who also denied Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in the quarter-final shootout.
The Infamous Penalty
Carragher initially scored his penalty but was forced to retake it after not waiting for the referee's whistle. On the second attempt, Ricardo saved his effort, allowing Portugal to progress to the semi-finals, where they eventually lost to France. Rooney himself had been sent off earlier in the match for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho, with Cristiano Ronaldo infamously winking at his Manchester United teammate as he walked off the pitch.
Fernandes' Apology
Speaking on the show, Fernandes explained: "Obviously 2006, everyone remembers because of Cristiano and Wayne's little bit of fire. (It) ends up with Jamie Carragher missing the penalty. I had to say this - sorry, Jamie." The United captain then turned to the camera and added: "I had to get a little bit off you, you get on me all the time, I can get on you with that penalty. When I miss a penalty, don't say anything about it, please."
Carragher's Reflection
In 2021, Carragher opened up about his heartbreak in response to Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho, and Marcus Rashford receiving racist abuse after missing penalties in the Euro 2020 final. Writing in The Telegraph, he recalled: "Sven Goran Eriksson summoned me and gave me one job: to dispatch a spot-kick as convincingly as I had in every practise session. I had not missed a penalty in six weeks. 'You'll take the fourth', Eriksson told me. Not a problem. England were 2-1 down by the time I made that 40-yard walk, but I was feeling confident staring at Portugal's No. 1 Ricardo."
He continued: "Knowing precisely where to place the ball, I struck it sweetly to the right, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way - my first touch of the game. There was a momentary sense of relief. Then the referee blew his whistle. The Argentine official, Horacio Marcelo Elizondo, said I had taken it too soon. Take two. Now I was engaged in a game of bluff with Ricardo, wrongly presuming he would think I would try to score in exactly the same way. I changed my mind and went left. So did he, pushing away my attempt."
