International friendlies are unusual in soccer in that nobody there — a bit like the only baseball game I've ever been to — cares very much about the outcome.


So the atmosphere is often kinda weird. Part-time fans are eager for an easy distraction from on-field apathy - Mexican waves, selfies — or perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime sniper-aimed paper airplane shot that picks off one of the 11 men you're aiming for in an arena full of 90,000.

And that's what happened last night to Peruvian defender Hansell Riojas during his team's 3-0 defeat to England at Wembley.


The flight of the missile itself: glorious.

The crowd's crescendo of delight as they slowly realise what is unfolding in front of them: life-affirming.