IF they realised the irony that England's moment of glory had brought their Japanese-built and French-owned factory to a standstill, the staff at Nissan were too busy worrying to mention it.

About 300 nervous factory workers packed into the staff canteen where the match was beamed on to screens, specially provided for the game by management, as production lines ground to a halt along with the rest of the country.

An entire generation of North-East football fans from both sides of the Tyne-Wear divide knows better than to expect victory - and few seemed confident as the game finally got under way after what seemed like months of build-up.

And when England captain David Beckham broke the deadlock from the penalty spot, the room erupted.

Only two men in the room kept their calm. Mr Okazak and Mr Yoshimoto, from head office, remained seated as the ball crashed into the net.

But even they were eventually swept up by the atmosphere. "Beckham, he very good," said one, raising his thumb in the air. "I wish I was in Japan right now. He's very big there, too."

Others couldn't quite manage to overcome their natural born pessimism. "Oh, hell, we've really annoyed them now," said one.

Even when the half-time whistle gave a brief respite, nerves were still jangling.

"Don't talk to me about nerves," said manager Steve Nicholson, of Darlington, "I'm a Newcastle fan, so I've been there; but I reckon we'll hang on."

His thoughts were echoed by Phil Thompson, of Sunderland, who had to endure more media attention than Mr and Mrs Beckham on a night out.

"It's bizarre," he said. "I don't know what's the strangest. All these cameras or the fact we're beating Argentina. We'll do a typical England and hang on stoutly."

Come the second half and virtual silence fell again, interspersed with an almighty roar when Teddy Sheringham belted a magnificent volley, narrowly saved by the 'keeper.

From about 20 minutes to go, the room cheered every mis-hit Argentine ball, every catch by England keeper David Seaman and every heavy boot up the field by England's rearguard.

By the end, everyone was drained - the strain visible on a few ashen faces.

"I'm relieved, I can tell you," said Paul Miller, of Sunderland, "but not because of the match. I installed the satellites for the television and it was flickering so badly I thought it would give out. This lot would have killed me!"

TV commentator John Motson declared: "They'll surely have to let everyone have the afternoon off if the score stays like this."

This time, the irony was not lost on the workers, who, after an earsplitting roar at the final whistle, solemnly filed back to the production line.