ENGLAND have been dumped out of the World Cup after being thrashed by bitter rivals Germany in a match hit by controversy.

England's defence simply could not cope with the Germans who raced into an early 2-0 lead through Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski.

But Fabio Capello's men pulled one back through a Matthew Upson header off a corner - and should have gone level moments later when Frank Lampard's shot was ruled out despite clearly going a yard over the line.

Germany, however, reasserted their control of the match in the second half, adding two further goals on the break from the excellent Thomas Muller to send England home two weeks early.

But tonight all they will snarl and rage at his how on earth Lampard's shot was missed.

There was no excuse for John Terry being so far up field when Manuel Neuer launched the ball from his six-yard line that he was taken completely out of the play by its flight.

Upson was left one-on-one with Klose and had neither agility, nor the strength to prevent the striker advancing on James and poking the ball into the England goal.

It was the start of an exceptionally uncomfortable period for Capello's side as Germany rampaged right through the heart of their midfield almost at will.

Mesut Ozil was an obvious problem, but Muller - the 20-year-old who helped destroy Manchester United with Bayern Munich this term - was emerging as the real danger man.

When he skipped off the right flank onto Klose's short pass, the English defence was again ripped to shreds.

Despite his tender years, Muller retained a cool enough head to flick the ball square to Podolski, whose finish, from a tight angle, went straight through James' legs and in off the post.

As James had already made two feet-first saves as German eyes lit up at a clear sight of goal, it seemed there was no way back for a team being completely outmanoeuvred.

Yet in a confrontation dripping with history, nothing is really new. Upson's reaction header from Steven Gerrard's cross brought that dream a bit closer to being realised.

As they celebrated, little did England know that within 60 seconds their opponents were about to enjoy the ultimate act of revenge.

It is frankly ludicrous that Sepp Blatter and his FIFA mandarins continue to shrug their shoulders at such injustices as the one Lampard suffered when the entire stadium, through all manner of new technology, knew within minutes the ball had crashed off Neuer's bar and bounced at least two feet over the line.

It was not even close, which is what David Beckham was presumably telling the South American officials as they made their way off at half-time.

Within seven minutes of the restart England were suffering again as Lampard let fly from fully 35 yards with a free-kick that again shook Neuer's crossbar. At least this time there was no claim for a goal.

It sparked a frenzied second half though, by far the most compelling period of play in the entire tournament, Germany defending manically, then trying to break on the counter.

Bastian Schweinsteiger had already come close to killing the game when another Lampard free-kick cannoned off the wall.

Gareth Barry was neatly robbed, Muller set Schweinsteiger free and began a run that ended with him burying England's World Cup dream.

Germany were not finished. With their opponents committed to desperate attack, Ozil raced past Barry with alarming ease and presented a gleeful Muller with a tap-in.

Four goals for the victors. Just like 66.

Live blog

The Lancashire Telegraph and The Bolton News teamed up to provide a live match blog. Replay the action below.