Polly Blenkin, Emmy Stock, Natalie Young and Divya Pathak were among those on their way to see the Lionesses play in the World Cup final in Sydney [Catherine Etoe]

THE light relief, when it came, was from the most unexpected of quarters.

“You left absolutely nothing out there,” declared football gonk Rishi Sunak in the moments after England had seen their Women’s World Cup title hopes dashed by Spain.

The Prime Minister’s gaffe on social media gave us the belly laugh we so desperately needed; when that final whistle had blown, the deflation was real, the empty feeling absolute.

They say it’s the hope that kills you and it was so true. Hit by pre-tournament injuries and retirements, Sarina Wiegman’s players had exceeded expectations with their impressive run Down Under.

Their victory over co-hosts Australia in the semis earlier in the week had been unforgettable; stellar goals and deafeningly theatrical boos from a partisan crowd combining to bring us the kind of drama we had come to expect from this World Cup.

But in one particular pub garden in Sydney in the hours before Sunday’s final, we were all Lionesses fans. Or so it seemed.

Everywhere you looked there were England-shirted men, women and children, some draped in the flags of St George, others with red and white paint smeared on their cheeks.

With Sydney Opera House glistening in the sunlight across the water, there was a carnival atmosphere to the proceedings, grown women launching into silly made-up songs and chants, prompting goosebumps and smiles in equal measure.

Heartbreak for England at the final whistle as Spain celebrate winning the World Cup in Australia [James Whitehead/SPP]

Could England deliver? “It would be incredible,” said Divya Pathak, who had journeyed across the world to cheer the Lionesses on alongside fellow Camden Eagles players Polly Blenkin and Emmy Stock.

Ambling along the concourse towards Stadium Australia as the sun went down, one long-time acquaintance had assured me everything would be OK.

Turned out he was wearing the shirt he had donned at last summer’s Euro 2022 final triumph.

Lucky shirts, lucky pants, lucky omens. I even had my own, daring to hope that unexpectedly bumping into the Swiss journalist I’d sat next to at Wembley last summer was a sign.

Regardless of what happened, though, I had reported on England long enough for this newspaper to know that Wiegman’s players were winners already.

In 1995, a team featuring Arsenal’s finest in striker Marieanne Spacey and keeper Pauline Cope had punched above their weight to finish seventh of 12 teams. But it had been another 12 years before England would feature on this stage again, and it was only in 2015 that they first won a medal, taking bronze in a 24-nation tournament.

Now, in a competition that had featured 32 sides, they were guaranteed to finish either first or second, the best yet.

As we all now know, of course, it would be the latter. Mary Earps, who saved a Jenni Hermoso penalty on the day, would depart with the Golden Glove as the tournament’s best keeper.

But that World Cup trophy was bound for Spain, opponents who were simply too good in a match settled by Olga Carmona’s first half goal.

Full-time was a hard watch – England’s players standing heartbroken while La Roja partied mere feet away for what seemed like an age while the fancy trophy presentation stage was erected.

The Lionesses stayed the course, though, humbly watching as Spain were crowned champions before applauding the fans one last time as the glitter rained down and fireworks flew into the night sky.

They had lost but England could feel proud. They had, as the saying really goes, left everything out on that pitch – and who can ask for more than that?