Club issues and an out-of-sorts Cristiano Ronaldo finally got the better of Portugal when Luiz Felipe Scolari's title favourites went out to Germany at the first knockout stage.
Germany beat Portugal 3-2 in a fascinating duel of contrasting styles in the quarter-final yesterday, putting too much faith in their quick-passing, attacking game and failing to defend set pieces.
Midfielder Deco said Portugal had lacked concentration at crucial moments in the match, the concentration that coach Scolari had said so often during the tournament was the key.
"We're sad because we were having a good European (championship) but the truth is that when you get to this phase you have to be 100 per cent concentrated at all levels and we weren't capable of that," Deco told reporters.
Portugal had to "be more concentrated in dead ball (situations) because we knew that was their strength".
Two of Germany's goals came from free kicks which Bastian Schweinsteiger curled in towards the far post and were headed in almost unchallenged by Miroslav Klose and Michael Ballack.
The goals were glaring examples of a weakness with high balls in goalkeeper Ricardo, a veteran of the European Championships and World Cup, who had lost his place at his Spanish club Real Betis for much of the season but was a Scolari favourite.
Scolari said his players were in good physical shape and could run for 90 minutes if required, they were brimming with skill, so what mattered was to be fully focussed in every match.
However, the eight-day break the team had after becoming the first to reach the last eight with victories over Turkey and Czech Republic, appears to have contributed to less concentration.
Portugal came to the tournament in Switzerland and Austria with the issue of Ronaldo's club future hanging over them. Whether the winger would leave Manchester United for Real Madrid or not seemed more important than the team's title ambitions.
Then Scolari could not avoid Chelsea announcing in mid-tournament that he was to join them from July, ending five years as Portugal coach.
Ronaldo and Scolari said they would not talk about their club futures until after the tournament yet the issues were attacked by reporters from numerous different angles at every news conference as tournament issues seemed to take a back seat.
The winger was the first player to leave the field after yesterday's defeat, sauntering off alone head bowed, but he was all smiles in the mixed zone talking to reporters afterwards about a likely move to Real Madrid.
On the field, Ronaldo had a fine game in Portugal's second match when they beat the Czechs 3-1, scoring one goal and having a part in the others, raising the prospect of becoming the player of the tournament.
But he was kept quiet by the German defence yesterday.
Scolari said Portugal, who had edged closer to the top echelons of the international game under his guidance, reaching the last European Championship final and the last four of the World Cup, still had to overcome a certain naivety.
Talking of the opening goal by Schweinsteiger, Scolari suggested a professional foul might have got rid of the danger, saying it "came from a normal move, which, if we'd done like other teams do, not allow them to play, we wouldn't have conceded a goal".