For 14-year-old Keira Drummond, the best and most difficult moments of the women’s World Cup came within an hour of each other. “When England scored the equaliser, I was so happy because I really thought we would get into the final and that would have massively changed how people see the game,” she said. To her dismay, the England team crashed out of the tournament after Ellen White’s second goal was ruled offside by VAR and the captain, Steph Houghton, missed a late penalty.

Play Video 1:46 'VAR sucks': England and US fans react after dramatic World Cup semi-final – video

Nevertheless, Keira described the World Cup as the most exhilarating one yet. And she insists it has already had a huge impact on the girls’ team at Stoke Newington school. The captain, 15-year-old Davina Thakore, agreed, adding that the tournament had inspired many girls in their school and local area to play. “There’s been a good turn out for trials, tournaments and school games. There’s more of a buzz around it,” she said.

The enthusiasm of the young players at the north London school is reflected across the UK. England’s women’s World Cup defeat to the USA was the most-watched British television broadcast of the year – with a peak audience of 11.7 million.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Dejection for England players Steph Houghton and Ellen White at full time after their defeat to the USA. Photograph: Javier García/BPI/REX/Shutterstock

Ian Bruce, a PE teacher at the school who coaches the team, said the landscape of women’s football has transformed over the last few years. “Since the women’s World Cup, there’s been a huge increase in people getting in contact. I’m getting emails every day. When I started this journey 10 years ago, I had to scramble around the school and pull girls out of lessons to ask them to play. But over the last few years, the growth of the women’s game has been amazing and the last few months, there’s a real buzz and a real energy.”

Louise McGing, secretary of AFC Leyton, one of the largest women-only football clubs in the UK with more than 700 players, said the World Cup has boosted interest and participation in clubs like theirs. “We were created five years ago because we believe girls need a safe place to train, that was just for them, where they are the priority.”

Bruce, who is also chair of women-only team AFC Stoke Newington, said he created it to catch the 16-year-old girls who might otherwise be put off playing football altogether. “I’d seen a lot of my best players go to other mixed clubs, but not enjoy it as much as playing it in school,” he said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The under-15s team at Stoke Newington school reflects the huge interest generated by the Women’s World Cup. Photograph: Handout

McGing said that welcoming space they provide meant they’ve seen a diverse cohort of players join recently, especially girls who have been harder to reach. “For the first time, we have players in hijabs, which is fab!” Historically, girls came through from mixed teams, but McGing said they are now seeing elite players coming through from girl-only squads.

“We’re accessing more athletes that we didn’t have before,” she said. “A lot of girls who would have done athletics before are now trying football; they’ve got the speed and stamina, and we just teach them the ball manipulation skills.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Davina Thakore and Keira Drummond. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian

Former England player Claire Rafferty welcomes the increased interest and enthusiasm in women’s football, but said she wants to see a larger group of players and clubs benefit. “The biggest clubs are the ones that attract the biggest sponsors and thus are able to pay the players more. I’d like to see it more from the bottom up.”

McGing said that the World Cup was an important step to normalising women’s football for everyone. “The World Cup showed we play just as strong a game as the men, but there’s less rolling around on the floor and less drama. It’s just about playing the sport properly.”