There is nothing quite like your first World Cup — the wide-eyed wonder, the immortal heroes, the summers that seemed to stretch on forever. Then, in a blink, those larger-than-life stars become greying legends spotted in the crowd: Ronaldo, the original, alongside Roberto Carlos and Kaká, in suits rather than boots, still with a twinkle in their eyes.

Tournaments blur into adulthood. The details grow grainy — the one you sprinted home from school for, the barbecues with friends, the one you watched from your first flat. The summers ended, one way or another, with a shootout or a deflating "why didn't he just square it?"

The four-year cycle spins faster as you age. Qatar, four years ago, passed in a sleep-deprived fog of soft-play centres and Bluey marathons. But the past few weeks have delivered an unexpected gift.

Falling in love with the game — again

Because yes, there is nothing like your first World Cup. But there is also nothing like the first World Cup you enjoy with your child.

Our almost six-year-old has become head-over-heels obsessed with football — marvelling at its greatest stars, hooked on vibrant kits, and confidently explaining every celebration to his bewildered parents. What a privilege to share those earliest footballing memories with him.

Falling in love with the sport has to come naturally — through grazed knees on the playground and a curiosity that sparks between young friends. You can dress them in Three Lions babygrows all you like, but you cannot force it. Four years ago, suggesting we watch a match together met the same resistance as proposing a midday nap. Suddenly, here we are: knee-deep in Panini swapsies, reeling off France's all-star attack, pointing at the badges of all 48 nations. Shiny Brazil!

A different world, the same magic

The medium through which today's children engage with a World Cup is different from ours, which in turn differs from our parents'. Where Grandad once saw Pelé at Goodison Park — poignant for any Everton supporter — our boy knows Pelé because his favourite YouTuber pulled a 99-rated Pelé icon card.

This is not a late-night World Cup for those of us in the northern hemisphere. No dashing into school early, no class teacher wheeling in a chunky television to watch Senegal shock France. Instead, mornings begin with small feet padding into our room at first light, yesterday's fixtures recited from memory, predictions made about which star will score — all before breakfast, fuelled by highlights packages.

Waking up last Wednesday felt like Christmas morning. Every clip unwrapped another breathtaking display. Kylian Mbappe. Erling Haaland. Lionel Messi with a hat-trick. Despite being the same age as most of their parents, it is still Messi who resonates most deeply with today's children — his shirt scattered across Sunday morning playing fields the world over.

What stays the same

For all that has changed, the core of it remains. Sticker books filled with care. Wallcharts marked with bold predictions. Hours spent in the garden pretending to be Harry Kane or Jude Bellingham, attempting to recreate the tournament's finest goals. This will be the summer we replace the fence.

To experience football through a child's eyes is to see it in a completely different light — one of wonder and a million unfiltered questions, questions you stopped asking decades ago. It is a view entirely free of modern football's ills: politics, ticket prices, hydration breaks. Just the pure, original magic of the game and the uncontrollable urge to 'Siuuuuu!' down a supermarket aisle.

Football can be tribal and divisive, but at its heart it is a sport that unites — whether that is supporters from across the globe embracing in a Mexico City fan park, or a parent and child gathered around a sticker book together.

The World Cup transcends generations. These weeks of football, shared between parent and child, carry a weight that will outlast any scoreline or golden boot. Whether our young football obsessive remembers this tournament in detail, who knows — perhaps next week it will be Pokémon again. But right now, experiencing this World Cup through his wide-eyed wonder is a beautiful, irreplaceable thing.

Here is to this summer. For many of us, this is the one that will last forever.