The charismatic 57-year-old Brazilian coach said Portugal's toughness in adversity was responsible for helping them hold their nerve in the penalty shoot-out that saw them win 3-1 in front of 40,000 baying England fans.

Scolari, who coached Brazil to World Cup glory in 2002, paid generous tribute to England, who fought for much of the match with 10 men as the two sides finished locked at 0-0 after extra-time.

But Scolari - who saw his unbeaten record in the World Cup finals extended to 12 successive matches - reserved his most lavish praise for his Portuguese players after a contest he described as "electrifying".

"The spirit of this team is remarkable," Scolari said.

"This is a new Portugal team and it's a new spirit. It's a warrior spirit. This is what we were missing in the past.

"We had great technical players but now we have added a warrior spirit and that was important for us today."

Scolari's victory was his third over England in consecutive tournaments, having overseen their demise at the last World Cup and Euro 2004, both also quarter-finals.

The Portugal coach, who had been poised to take over from Sven-Goran Eriksson before changing his mind and turning down the job in May, expressed admiration for England's rearguard action.

"It was an electrifying match and I have to congratulate England for their part in it. With only 10 players for so long they gave an incredible performance," he said.

"We tried to take advantage of the extra man but England closed us down very well. They just didn't give us any room at all. In fact it was just like we were playing 11 men."

Although Scolari described the shoot-out as a lottery, he gave credit to Portugal's goalkeeper Ricardo, who saved three spot-kicks. That, rather than the weight of England's poor record in shoot-outs, had been behind the triumph.

"Penalties are a lottery. That's the truth of it. You can't blame the English players because they hit the target," he said.

"But I want to give praise to Ricardo. He had the skill to dive the right way and make the saves. He was the reason that we won the penalties, not the ghosts of the English."

Portugal will now face either Brazil or France in Wednesday's quarter-final in Munich, but Scolari was cagey about the prospect of possibly facing his homeland in the last four.

"If I didn't have to play the semi-final and go straight to the final I would be happy. But I'm not thinking about Brazil yet," he said.

Scolari also refused to be drawn on the controversy surrounding Wayne Rooney's dismissal. Asked for his opinion of the 62nd-minute dismissal of the Manchester United player, Scolari brushed off questions.

"I don't have to give an opinion," he said. "If the referee gives a red card, it was a red card. That's his decision."