Darius 'devastated' by miss
A late Frank Lampard goal brought the score to 2-2 in extra-team leaving the dreaded shot-out to settle the tense quarter final tie.
With the score a five apiece in the penalty lottery, it was the Aston Villa striker who saved his effort saved by Ricardo, who them smashed home the winning kick.
Vassell joins the like of Chris Waddle, Gareth Southgate and David Batty to miss crucial penalties for England and has been overwhelmed by fans' support.
"After spending the past 36 hours trying to come to terms with the immense disappointment of missing one of the vital penalties at the end of the match against Portugal on Thursday night, I would like to express my sincere thanks for the overwhelming support I have received from England fans upon my return to the country," said Vassell in a statement.
"Since coming back home to Birmingham, I have been inundated with messages - not only from Villa fans - which have really been touching and have gone a long way to restoring my confidence to move on from this incredible disappointment.
"The actions of the Aston Villa faithful, who have hung banners at Villa Park pledging their belief and support of me for the future at both club and international level, has completely blown me away me - and I can't thank people enough for their actions of support.
"As everyone would expect, I am completely devastated by the disappointment of Thursday night. But I realise it is essential for me to try to deal with it and put it behind me as much as possible and try to refocus on the coming season with Aston Villa and England - which I am more determined than ever to make successful."
