The English actor Tom Hiddleston has one photograph from his entire professional career framed on the wall of his North London home.Is it something from his years starring as Loki in the Marvel franchise? Or how about his time as Jonathan Pine in hit series The Night Manager? Maybe an image from one of his many leading roles in plays by William Shakespeare? No.The image is from one of his appearances at Soccer Aid, the football match involving professionals and celebrities which raises millions each year for the children’s charity UNICEF. Hiddleston has now represented England against the Rest of the World team on three occasions.“There was a moment in 2023 when (former Italy and Roma midfielder) Francesco Totti, it was a perfect lob of the entire field. And it was clear water between (Jamaican sprinter and 100 metre world record holder) Usain Bolt and the goal and only one person close enough to stop him,” Hiddleston tells The Athletic, his face full of glee. “So, it’s me versus Usain Bolt in a foot race to the ball.“There is an extraordinary picture of both of us side by side — and I’m in front. That’s the picture I’ve got on my wall.”(Getty Images)Hiddleston’s love for football is something that has run adjacent to his acting career, but long since preceded it. It all started with watching England compete at the European Championship in 1996 and later turned into a love affair with Arsenal when he moved to North London to study acting more than 25 years ago. But more on Arsenal later.“It was an extraordinary summer (1996). I was about 15 and it felt like the whole country was invited to a party,” the Golden Globe winner smiles. “It was the end of one generation and the beginning of another.“It just seemed like it was just this joyful celebration. I really, really remember that. And that translated into France ’98. And the beginning of a run where it was such a joy to support England. I loved it every time it came around, whether it was the Euros or the World Cup. I love supporting England. It just feels like this lovely togetherness.“I’m excited about this summer. Genuinely, I put it in my diary like a year ago. I was like, it’s the World Cup summer.”Hiddleston, who has two children to partner and fellow actor Zawe Ashton, will have some rare time off this summer which means he might be about to live out a childhood dream of watching England at a World Cup. Can England win the tournament for the first time since their only victory in 1966?“I think so,” he says, in a tone that could make anything believable. “Harry Kane’s one of the better strikers in the world. Very few people could compete with him and his goalscoring record and his form for Bayern Munich.”“Jordan Pickford’s record for England is unbelievable. It was interesting actually just talking to Wayne Rooney at lunch today, which by the way is a sentence I can’t believe I’m saying,” says Hiddleston from Soccer Aid’s training base at Champneys Spa in Tring, just north of London.“He (Wayne) thinks Jordan Pickford is one of the best goalkeepers England has ever had. So, up front we’ve got the best, at the back we’ve the best. We’ve got best on the right. We’ve the the best in the midfield. We’ve got really, really high quality players.“Some people are saying Jude Bellingham might not start. That’s an extraordinary sentence.”Hiddleston and Rooney at this year’s Soccer Aid match (Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images)As for England’s German manager, Thomas Tuchel, he has been under fire for leaving out Harry Maguire, Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold among others. But Hiddleston is a fan of his process.“I like his philosophy. I like his emphasis on the team. I really believe in that myself. If I can transfer it to what I do, I’m an actor,” he explains, as though for a moment nobody in the room knows he is one of the most recognisable faces in the world of acting. “What’s less talked about about actors is it really is a team game. If you’re making a film or you’re doing a play, it’s the ensemble, it’s the company. And the best things I’ve been a part of in terms of their quality for the audience is when the experience has been a really extraordinary team game.“We rise together, everyone’s got each others’ backs and actually the less happy or the less effective experiences for me is when everyone’s kind of slightly playing for themselves. So to hear Tuchel talk about football in that way, which is, he’s picked this squad because it’s the best team, is really encouraging. I love that he’s so uncompromising about it.”Hiddleston might want to think about having some more photos printed out and framed given some of his recent experiences. One that stands out is his interview with Mikel Arteta three days after Arsenal won the Premier League for the first time in 22 years.