For the Dutch it erased the nightmares of the past three Euro championships where they went out on penalties not to mention the 1998 World Cup semi-final shootout loss to Brazil.

Predictions of a high scoring encounter between two countries boasting some of the deadliest marksmen in the business were wide of the mark as the two sets of defences more than earned their salaries.

Deadlock after two hours of football on a stamina-sapping Algarve night ended in the dreaded but morbidly fascinating spot kicks, with the Dutch prevailing 5-4 with Chelsea-bound Arjen Robben getting the decisive goal.

"That is the greatest moment of my life," said Robben, whose performances here have shown how much Manchester United have missed out on after he opted to go to Chelsea instead.

"To score the decisive penalty in such a big tournament is amazing. But I wasn't really afraid indeed I was very confident.

"Finally we have won in a shootout, today we fought to the end with all the team staying positive," he added.

Dick Advocaat admitted that they hadn't bothered practising for them, though he added he had brought on Bayern Munich striker Roy Makaay late in the second-half so he had a specialist penalty taker on the pitch.

"We didn't train for them because I think they are like a lottery, though I brought on Makaay because we needed another penalty taker.

"I didn't see the point in rehearsing for the penalties, I know Sweden practised and look what happened," added Advocaat, who just a week ago was enemy number one back home after what was seen as a disastrous decision to take off Robben when the Dutch lost 3-2 to the Czechs after leading 2-0.

Swedish co-coach Lars Lagerback was philosophical in defeat.

"What can one say but well done to the Dutch.

"I am proud of the way we managed to hold such a mighty team to 0-0 over two hours of play.

"I am just sorry that we couldn't have given my co-coach Tommy Soderbergh a better send-off.

"Even if Sven-Goran Eriksson is also Swedish (the England coach having seen his side go out on penalties to Portugal) I don't think there is a curse on Swedes in penalty shootouts!"

Ruud van Nistelrooy had led the way by taking and scoring the first penalty for the Dutch and then showed how much it meant by kissing virtually every member of the 23 man squad.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic had missed Sweden's third but that was cancelled out when Dutch skipper Philip Cocu's hit the left post - the second time he has suffered such misery having had his penalty saved by Brazilian keeper Taffarel.

Sweden's skipper Olof Mellberg then had his saved - like Aston Villa team-mate Darius Vassell had in the England-Portugal penalty shootout - by Edwin van der Sar before Robben coolly stepped up to slot the ball to the right of Andreas Isaksson.

Penalties had been preceded by extra time in which van Nistelrooy had the ball in the back of the net only for the goal to be disallowed for offside.

And Freddie Ljungberg had his head in his hands after he had a superb strike ricochet off van der Sar's left post.

The Netherland's had a handful of chances in the first half, notably when Robben ducked inside Mikael Nilsson out on the right but his shot was tipped over the crossbar by Isaksson.

Sweden's veteran striker Henrik Larsson had tried to curl a direct freekick around the wall but it lacked legs and bounced off the wall and out of danger.

Van Nistelrooy for once was largely out of the picture but he made a bold start to the second half with a header edging over the bar and then he came up with a cagey backheeler apeing Ibrahimovic's late equaliser against Italy saved.

The Dutch were lucky to escape when a half-hearted clearance by Jaap Stam was pounced on by Ibrahimovic but Cocu kept his shot out.

As the game entered a frenetic stage van Nistelrooy will probably never know how his angled shot from point blank range avoided its target on the hour mark, though the Swedes too had their bad luck as Larsson's fierce shot from six metres out in extra-time hit the bar with van der Sar beaten.