Agony for fans in Japan

The joy of England fans turned to agony in the Shizuoka stadium today as our team crashed out of the World Cub, losing 2-1 to Brazil. Earlier, the mood had been very different with carnival-like scenes outside the stadium as tens of thousands of supporters of each side mingled excitedly, the red and white of England dancing alongside the yellow and green of Brazil.

The most in-demand World Cup match so far had seen touts demanding £800 for a ticket and many were willing to pay it. Some had taken desperate measures to get here. Teacher Paul Jenkins, 31, from Finsbury Park, last week bought a ticket to Tokyo on the spur of the moment - without telling his girlfriend. Today he learned, via email, that she had dumped him. In penance he had written "I'm sorry Angela Bell" on his England shirt.

Mr Jenkins, his whole head painted in a cross of St George, said: "I've made a real mess of things and I'm desperately sorry. But I just had to come out here. I woke up one morning and said to myself, 'I've got to be there'. I rang Angela from Tokyo airport. She was livid." He plans to rush back as soon as he can to repair his relationship with the 19-year-old student from Manchester.

Another who had gone to extreme lengths to be here was 16-year-old Jessica Watson, from Scarborough. "On Wednesday I finished sitting my last GCSE, history, at 11.30. I had to run out of the room to the station to catch the 11.45 to get to Heathrow to fly here. We finally got to Shizuoka this morning," said Jessica, who hopes to become a solicitor. "My dad brought me out for the Argentina game during my half-term - I was revising on the night after the game - and then I flew back to take my exams before rushing back here."

Others had an easier time of it. Michael Court won tickets for himself and his friend Mike Smith through the Evening Standard's competition. "I still can't believe I'm out here - that I won this trip," he said. "I'm still a little bleary-eyed. I was out until five in the morning dancing with Brazilian fans. They are brilliant fun. It was one of the best nights of my life."

Sarah Stone, 21, a personal assistant from Stafford, was one of many England fans dancing the samba. "The atmosphere here is better than any game I've ever been to," she said. "It's brilliant." Indeed, fans turning up at the local station found themselves walking out of the ticket hall and into a carnival. Outside the 50,000-capacity Shizuoka stadium, the crowds wore team colours, painted faces, coloured wigs and hats.

One Japanese woman had even sewn a Cross of St George coat for her miniature dog. As well as the throng of bodies, there was noise. Several groups of Brazilian fans, draped in yellow, played samba music on dozens of drums and whistles. The Official England Supporters' Band was doing a valiant job trying to hold its own. "We'll keep doing what we do best," said the band's trumpeter John Henningham. "Nothing fancy - just solid belting tunes." They duly struck up The Great Escape. It was, as promised, loud.

In response, the Brazilian fans only banged their own drums harder. Bikini-topped dancer Duda Ruba, 27, from Sao Paulo, said: "The England fans are better at having a party than we thought." Luciano Silva, 30, from Para in northern Brazil, was shaking a ganza, a beaded percussion instrument. "We like the English. They are good fun, and their team is a good one." It was a sentiment echoed by Bobby Charlton, who played in the 1970 World Cup game between England and Brazil. "I'd give anything to be out there playing today," he said. "This game is what football is all about."

Another ex-England player who will always be associated with Brazil is John Barnes - he scored the best goal of his career against them in Rio nearly 20 years ago. "England against Brazil is a very special game," he said. "People always remember the goal I scored against them but that was just in a friendly."

Thousands of miles away, another England fan - Tony Blair - settled down to watch the football straight after arriving in Spain for the EU summit on immigration. The Prime Minister's schedule was turned upside down to make sure he did not miss the match. He had originally planned to travel to the summit at about seven this morning. Instead, he flew overnight, landing at a near deserted airport at around 2am.The Government's communications staff and BBC technicians were roped in to make sure the TV pictures were fed through.