From Dizzee Rascal, The Spice Girls to New Order: The best songs dedicated to England's Football team

It's fair to say there's a bit of tension between Australia's sports and music industries at the moment given the double standards around COVID restrictions. However, our noisy rival England is currently on top of the sporting world, heading to the Euro 2020 final. Surprisingly, the country has dozens of tracks dedicated to the England football team. Every major tournament when the Three Lions do well, streaming services charts become clogged with dedicated supporter songs.

Surprisingly, some of these songs are total bangers. From Grime, italo-disco electro to straight out pop, the Brits do something right and that's rallying people with great music. There's a heap of classic and fan favourites, but we've taken the time out today to introduce you to some of our favourites and most chaotic English Football dedicated tracks.

In no particular order, here are the top songs dedicated to England's national football team.

New Order - World In Motion

The undisputed GOAT of Football songs is New Order's World In Motion. It's a mashup of post-punk electronica with spreaded vocals from the 1990 England Football team. Despite its obvious lyrical sentiment, thematically and emotionally, the track has a weirdly emotional and nostalgic feel to it. The track's hook as it combines with an italo-disco bass line, 'Love's got the world in motion' feels more at home in a rave than a packed stadium or pub.

Dizzee Rascal & James Corden - Shout For England

Dizzee Rascal changed grime forever when he released his classic body of work, 'Boy in Da Corner' project in 2003. Who would have thought that 7 years on he'd be collaborating with James Corden on an unofficial anthem for the 2010 World Cup? The track debuted at Number 1 on the UK Singles Chart, selling 100 000 units in its first 4 days of being released. Whether it's good or not, we will leave that up for you to decide.

Spice Girls ft. England United - How Does it Feel (To Be On Top of the World)

This track had every ingredient to be a ready built smash hit. The supergroup England United consisted of The Bunnymen, Space, Ocean Colour Scene and was fronted by one of the biggest pop groups in the world at the time, The Spice Girls. It was the official song for the national football team in the 1988 World Cup. It was met with largely negative critical reception, given while it was a good pop song, it was not anthemic enough to translate to the sport context. In 2006 Guardian readers voted it the second worst England football song ever and was booed by fans at stadiums.

Baddiel, Skinner & Lightning Seeds - Three Lions (Football's Coming Home)

And the one you've all been waiting for, this track has become the unofficial anthem of English Football. Sung and quoted absolutely everywhere after England win a game in a major tournament, the track has achieved icon status. It's chantable chorus and sonic construction combine to tell a tale of England's collective consciousness as a nation.

Words by PARRY TRITSINIOTIS

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