“Playing like a girl” has always been a term of abuse among male footballers but, after the valiant efforts of the England women’s team in the World Cup (where they unluckily lost in the semi-finals to an own goal in the last minute of injury time), they may wish to reconsider.

The England women played with an energy, honesty and joy often missing in the men’s game. There was no spitting, no hair-pulling, no scratching or biting, no diving, no abusing the referee, no trying to get opponents sent off and no faking of injuries.

If that is what it means to play like a girl we can only hope that some of our over paid and under- performing male footballers will have taken note.