Saturday afternoon in north west London was surreal. England won a football match with ease and watching them was a pleasant experience. Come again? England are the great under-achievers of international football (or is that Spain?) who breathlessly struggle to qualify from the group stages of tournaments, only to hit their own particular glass ceiling, known as the quarter-finals, time after time.

Shizuoka Ecopa Stadium, built in 2001, in Shizuoka Prefecture was a 2002 FIFA World Cup venue where England lost 2-1 to Brazil in the quarterfinals. J-League side Jubilo Iwata play their more high profile matches at the 51,349 capacity Ecopa Stadium, which they share with local rivals Shimizu S-Pulse. Shizuoka 'Ecopa' Stadium Ogasayama Sports Park, Aino, Fukuroi City 437-8666 Nearest train station: JR Aino Station Nearest bus stop: Ogasayama Undo Koen Listen to the sounds of Ecopa Stadium Guide To Shizuoka J-League Stadiums Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football soccer football stadiums

Shizuoka Ecopa Stadium, built in 2001, in Shizuoka Prefecture was a 2002 FIFA World Cup venue where England lost 2-1 to Brazil in the quarterfinals. J-League side Jubilo Iwata play their more high profile matches at the 51,349 capacity Ecopa Stadium, which they share with local rivals Shimizu S-Pulse.

We changed our flights, sped round the south of Argentina at the speed of light and managed to get to Buenos Aires in time for the weekend and the footy - River Plate playing Olimpio on the Saturday night, a lad in our hostel was going with a girl from Buenos Aires and we were in. Excellent. We walked through the cobbled streets of San Telmo, past the old men in berets with handlebar moustaches sipping red wine on the Plaza and took the bus up to El Monumental, home of Los Millonerios, aka River Plate.