After the final whistle blew, the Argentinian players danced their way off the pitch, and the fans finally flowed out the exits at the Atlanta Stadium. The England team began to re-emerge.

In their sky blue tracksuits, they walked slowly down the touchline, heads bowed and hoodies up. The walk was important; they were going to see their friends and family who were spread across a section of the lower tier.

After 90 minutes of intense and ultimately heartbreaking football, the sight of the men who’d been running their hearts out moments earlier suddenly, in a calm, casual moment, was striking.

Surrounded by empty seats rather than howling fans, the players cut a lonely sight. As they climbed the stairs to hug their family, it really brought it home; beneath all the chants and names on replica shirts, these were just a bunch of normal lads who wanted to be with the people who love them.

While it was touching to see all the players embracing parents and lifting up children, the most affecting sight was, without a doubt, Jude Bellingham.

England’s number 10 is a bona fide superstar who plays for the biggest club in the world. He has the type of confidence that comes with being a generational talent like Michael Jordan.

Indeed, we’ve seen that swagger in the white shirt many times, famously he shouted “who else” after scoring a crucial goal for the national team at the European Championships two years ago.

But slumped in a plastic chair with his head in his hands, you could see England’s Superman was just a regular bloke, another Englishman, absolutely gutted by the result.

Of course, the stakes for Jude are higher than any of the rest of us can imagine. He is the talisman of this side who takes responsibility when things, as has far too often been the case, haven’t been going well.

While that must bring some incredible highs, it clearly also has lows.

Even from 200 yards away, you could see how devastated he was. He was wiping tears from his cheeks as his girlfriend stroked his back and, before being beckoned back to the dressing room, he hugged both his mum and dad for what must have been minutes at a time.

I actually got emotional seeing him hug his mum.

The way she held him was with a tenderness familiar to any parent who’s comforted an upset child.

Whether your baby is three or 23, you just want them to feel a little better.

It was clear that even in the cavernous Atlanta Stadium after a high-stakes World Cup semi-final, there’s nothing like a hug from your mum, even if you’re Jude Bellingham.