Call it a hydration break, a commercial break. Or just a few minutes to scroll: enough time to open a dating app, swipe through a handful of profiles and return to the match before the players are back in position. Among the many curiosities of this World Cup, one of the more amusing – and, given the number of people squeezed into a stadium, not entirely surprising – is the sudden jump in dating app activity during the biggest games. The highest peaks arrive when England are playing. Their supporters, it seems, are particularly busy on Tinder, Hinge, Bumble and Grindr. Figures published by the Times show that during the dramatic last-16 win over Mexico – Bellingham’s performance, five goals, chances at both ends: not exactly the kind of match that leaves room for distraction – traffic on dating apps rose by 15 per cent during the first hydration break and by 46 per cent during the second. While Kane and his teammates were fighting for a place in the last eight, some of those who had made it to the Azteca were apparently doing something else entirely: checking Tinder.
The hydration breaks are one thing. Half-time is something else. Fifteen minutes between the two halves is enough for dating apps to take off, with traffic rising by 116 per cent. Tinder and Hinge lead the way (+48%), but Bumble (+59%) and Grindr (+12%) also see a jump. Then comes another surge after the final whistle, when supporters reach straight for their phones. England against Mexico remains the clearest example recorded so far. But the same thing had already happened in the last-32 tie against Congo – even though, until the final hydration break, Tuchel’s team were effectively out of the tournament: perhaps there was consolation to be found elsewhere? – and during the group stage against Croatia, Panama and Ghana. There are still no figures for the brilliant quarter-final win over Norway, although it would be surprising if they told a different story. A World Cup match, after all, is not only a match. It is a shared reference point, an easy opening line, a reason to start talking. According to a survey carried out by Virgin Media O2, 72 per cent of singles believe that the excitement around these American weeks makes it easier to chat, meet and get to know someone. A third of them give football the credit for helping things along. Not a match in the sense of England against Argentina. Another kind of match. The kind that can begin in the stands, somewhere between a goal and the final whistle.