The beauty of sharing the first World Cup with your child

Published 25 minutes ago By Alex Bysouth BBC Sport Senior Journalist There is nothing like the wonder of your first World Cup - the misty-eyed nostalgia of youth, summers that seemed to last forever, the gargantuan stars you believed were immortal. In a blink of an eye those childhood heroes became a cut-to in the crowd - Ronaldo, the original, with Roberto Carlos and Kaka - greying legends in suits instead of swashbuckling boots. Still a twinkle in their eye. Aura with achy knees. Tournaments once so defined now blur into adulthood ambivalence, postcards plotted along the timeline of your life, the details growing grainy. That one you rushed home from school for, those barbecues with your mates, the one you watched in your first house. The summers ended - with a wink, a shootout or a "why didn't he square it?" The World Cup cycle seems to pedal round far quicker as an adult, yet something huge changed since Qatar four years ago - a tournament lived through a sleep-deprived haze in soft-play centres and binge-watching Bluey. But the past few weeks have brought an unexpected joy. Because, yes, there is nothing like your first World Cup, but there's also nothing like the first World Cup you enjoy with your kid. In the nick of time, our almost six-year-old has become head-over-heels obsessed with the beautiful game - marvelling at its greatest stars, hooked by a cast of new characters in vibrant kits, kidsplaining their celebrations to his parents. What a privilege to share those earliest footballing memories with him. We thought it might not happen, and that would be absolutely fine, because you can dress them up in Three Lions babygrows and joke about Project Mbappe, but falling in love with the sport has to come naturally - through knees grazed on the playground and a childhood intrigue that breeds between young mates. "Who's better, Messi or Ronaldo?!" The eternal question. Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Lionel Messi, at 38, stills resonates with kids in the playground Four years ago, any effort to watch a game together was met with the same stubborn toddler resistance as suggesting a midday nap. Suddenly, here we are, knee-deep in Panini swapsies, reeling off an all-star French attack, pointing out the flags and badges of all 48 nations. Shiny Brazil! Of course, the medium through which he is engaging with this World Cup is different from our childhood experiences, which in turn are different to our parents'. "Grandad saw Pele at Goodison Park?" Poignant for Grandad because he's an Evertonian, impressive for the little one because his favourite YouTuber - Chuffsters - pulled a 99-ranked Pele icon card. This isn't a bedtime-friendly World Cup for those this side of the pond - we've not yet stayed up late and there's no dashing into school early, class teacher wheeling out a chunky television to catch Senegal shock France. Instead, this World Cup is about climbing into our bed at first light with his little brother, listing yesterday's