An in-depth history of England World Cup songs and Euro singles

Gathered here for the first time – a comprehensive list of the England football team’s various attempts to get into the charts during World Cup and Euro years.

Since the first official single was released in 1966 for the World Cup which England won, maybe they thought there was something to it, and so went on to release many more. Some are great, some are awful, most are just a bit weird. Find out more about the musicians that played them and the players that…also played.

2006: Embrace – The World At Your Feet

Plodding indie band Embrace released their ode to football without actually saying the word itself.

2002: Ant & Dec – We’re On The Ball

National treasures Ant & Dec take time off from being on TV 24/7 to make a football song that’s as heavy on positivity as it is on namedropping.

1998: Fat Les – Vindaloo

Pop supergroup Fat Les weighs in on lad culture with their tribute to something that rhymes with ‘Waterloo’, which for some reason was a reference they really needed to get in there.

1998: England United – ‘Top of the World’ / Chumbawamba – “Ole Ole Ole”

Songs by Chumbawamba and England United, both released in 1998, both called ‘Top of The World’. There can only be one winner.

1996: Baddiel, Skinner & The Lightning Seeds – Three Lions

Baddiel, Skinner and the Lightning Seeds made Three Lions; probably the most popular English football song of all time.

1994: James – ‘Goal Goal Goal’

England didn’t even qualify for the World Cup, but that didn’t stop James re-recording one of their jauntier tracks for a USA 1994 compilation album.

1990: England New Order – World In Motion

England New Order took an average squad player and turned him into a pop culture icon thanks to this release.

England World Cup Songs 1980-1989

A round-up of the England football songs before they really became a widespread thing. Featuring brilliant haircuts and awful songs.

English Football Songs – The Best and the Rest

An introduction to the whole crazy mess that is the England football song. Why does this continue to happen to us?

England Football Songs: Nostalgic Epilogue (1996)

Where I watch a documentary about something that happened 20 years ago and get bummed out.