Natasha Chahal

Before the final yesterday I was puzzled as to why Jennifer Hudson was singing the US national anthem: did they think we might have forgotten where the match was being held? As if in a fever dream I saw Robbie Williams, Tom Cruise, Donald Trump’s favourite ring announcer Michael Buffer (‘let’s get ready to rumble’) and, like something from the TK Maxx Gold Label range, a Louis Vuitton trophy box. No one scored in the first half. The half-time show – don’t forget this is America – looked like a long advert for Coca Cola, culminating in children singing with Coldplay and a gigantic carpet displaying the word ‘love’. Meanwhile the US war on Iran intensified.

The football games we obsess over are the ones that tell a story and this World Cup has been full of stories. I made it till after midnight waiting for England v. Mexico at 1 a.m. but when it was announced that kick-off would be delayed an hour because of the weather I decided to call it a day and watch in the morning.

Emma Hayes has described the difference between men’s and women’s football as cortisol v. dopamine. Under her management between 2012 and 2024, Chelsea won the Women’s Super League seven times, the FA Cup five times and the League Cup twice. In 2024 Hayes was recruited by the US national team and they won gold at the Olympics. I was delighted when I heard that she’d be part of the ITV line-up for their coverage of the men’s World Cup this year. But – as a lot of people have been asking on social media – why did the set designers feel the need to put her in a kitchen?

In 2018, when Fifa announced that Mexico, Canada and the USA would host the 2026 World Cup, I thought I’d go to North America for it. I was 31 and somehow believed this would be my last tournament: I couldn’t imagine life after forty. An even more ridiculous idea, it turns out, was assuming I’d be able to afford it.

Compared to 2022, when England was the host nation, there has been a distinct lack of interest in this summer’s Euros. After England beat Italy last Tuesday to qualify for the final, I texted my nearest and dearest to say I would see them on Sunday. I hoped this loosely veiled threat would pay off. Does it matter if we don’t show our support for the women competing? If you follow football but have ignored this tournament, it matters.