With Jamie J
IN FREEZING cold weather conditions on a Thursday night amid the post-Christmas and new year lull, you could forgive a football stadium for not being at its best, but somehow, even in the most testing times, Goodison Park always turns up.
It continues to do so despite the Everton FC of recent years playing some of its worst football since a notoriously bad spell in 1994. At times, it might even have been worse.
England survived a thrilling Azteca encounter, but the stadium and its supporters created one of the tournament’s defining nights, writes JAMES NALTON
Snippets of news from the sporting world with Jamie J
As football grapples with overloaded calendars and commercial pressure, the Mariners’ triumph reminds us why the game’s soul lives far from the spotlight, writes JAMES NALTON


