World Cup stories: From Back Home to Ant and Dec, ranking all of England's 'official' World Cup anthems

When a World Cup rolls around, there are always those classic World Cup traditions that come hand-in-hand with football's biggest stage. 

Whether it's collecting the World Cup sticker album or shopping for that perfect pub-wearing retro shirt, there's something special about a major tournament come summertime. 

Another one of those traditions is England's 'official' anthem. In modern times, the football pop song is something that has sadly become obsolete - including those classic FA Cup songs - but a World Cup ditty seems to be just about clinging on. 

With 2026's version still to be unleashed and 68 days until kick-off, we look back and rank all ten of the Three Lions' official anthems from tournaments gone by, which means no place for Three Lions '98 or Vindaloo , as much as they've stood the test of time a lot longer than some of these 'tunes'.

• Read next I 69 days - Which players have made the most appearances at the World Cup? 

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10) James Corden and Dizzee Rascal - Shout (Shout for England) 

Even at the height of his 'Smithy' fame, I'm not sure James Corden was ever the right fit to front a football song to rally the England troops ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. 

The actor/presenter has been a polarising figure for most of his fame, and this release seemed to split the fans, too. A cover of Tears for Fears 'Shout', the ploddy pop song was given an added 'cool factor' by having Dizzee Rascal add his original rap to the new version, with Corden doing his best to get the rub from the British rapper. 

Somehow, it reached number 1 in the charts and made much more of an impact than the Three Lions did at the tournament. 

9) England Squad - We'll Get it Right This Time 

The first of three songs from a simpler time for football and music. This is back when it wasn't about big names or pop videos.

No, all you had to do was get the boys together for a right old sing-a-long. 

The major problem with this notion was that, by and large, the songs were pretty ropey. 

This song, ahead of the 1982 finals, had the squad promising 'We'll Get it Right This Time' after a decade of failure from the Three Lions.

However, not many really believe what they are promising, with only Kevin Keegan getting into full 'sing in the shower' mode, while the rest look like they'd rather be anywhere else. 

8) England Squad - We've Got the Whole World at Our Feet 

After the disappointment of 1982, both musically and in a sporting sense, Bobby Robson and his team were foolish enough to repeat the musical feat all over again. 

For Mexico '86, the Three Lions this time told us they had the whole world at their feet, but they didn't even bother to turn up and record this one. 

The song is marginally better, with shades of Chas and Dave, but its only redeeming feature is that they didn't drag the squad together to actually make them sing it together. 

 

7) Sport Relief - Greatest Day 

We're not judging the tune here, because Take That's Greatest Day is one of the great modern pop songs (no joke!), but more I'm not sure anyone actually remembered this happened in 2014. 

Gary Barlow got together with a collection of pop stars and ex-England footballers to re-record this classic as part of Sport Relief, but it was actually never released as a single. 

You can't help but marvel at the mix of artists giving it their emotional best and a load of ex-footballers just having a laugh in the video...and yes, that is Carlton Palmer and Gary Mabbutt, no expense spared. 

6) Baddiel and Skinner - Three Lions (It's Coming Home For Christmas) 

We all love Three Lions. We all fell head over heels for Three Lions in 1996. We loved Three Lions '98, sure it wasn't right, but it didn't stop us from buying it (this is before downloads, kids). 

Yet did we need a third version? Probably not, but as a sucker for all things Christmassy, you couldn't help but eat up the tackiness of their winter update for Qatar 2022.

'Three Lions on a sleigh' went the chorus (yep!), while Baddiel and Skinner gave props to the Lionesses and fudged in any Christmas reference they could to their football classic. 

We shouldn't have liked it, but that's what guilty pleasures are, right? 

5) England United - How Does it Feel (To be on Top of the World) 

Here's one that only fans of a certain 90s vintage will appreciate, even if at the time we all tried to shun it in favour of Baddiel and Skinner, and Vindaloo. 

The FA tried to show us they were down with the kids by bringing some hipster indie bands together, along with the Spice Girls - because they were everywhere in 1998 - and forming England United. 

It's not what you want from a football song, a little too safe, while David Batty and Rob Lee awkwardly play football in the video and David Beckham poses with his wife to be. 

But it's also not a bad little tune, either. 

4) Embrace - World at Your Feet 

Talking of trying to play it cool, the England song went down that route once again in 2006, with Embrace's World at Your Feet. 

If you're scratching your head trying to recall this one, the reason you may not is that it is probably seen as just a decent Embrace effort at the top of their game. 

There were no England players used in the video, no big PR campaigns, just a bit of an uplifting anthem designed to inspire England's 'golden generation'. 

It wins points for being, well, actually quite good, but maybe needed a bit more footballing pizazz to etch it onto our memories a while longer. 

3) Ant and Dec - We're On The Ball 

From one extreme to the other, as everyone's favourite presenting duo - no, we're not talking about Neville and Carragher - Ant and Dec gave us this for 2002's official song. 

Upping the cheesiness as the pair channelled their PJ and Duncan days, the song has a catchy chorus and a video full of the kind of hilarity you'd expect from the SMTV stars. 

Perhaps its most memorable element was its countdown, player by player, of Emile Heskey's goal in England's 5-1 win over Germany in the qualifiers. 

Well, it's enough to get it into the top three, which is the same placing as it made in the UK charts. 
 

2)  England World Cup Squad - Back Home 

If you like your football songs simple, though, look no further than when the reigning world champions got together for the first-ever England World Cup song in 1970. 

A tune very much of its time, the big brass-enthused track has all the feels of when 'men were men' and reeks of the 70s' style swagger. 

Particularly when you see the squad tuxed up to the nines performing 'Back Home", it looks like an audition to be the next Roger Moore-style James Bond. 

But, hey, in 1970 that was cool, and so were England...until the quarter-finals. 

 

1) New Order and Keith Allan - World In Motion 

In at number one is a song that should really be in a league of its own compared to everything else on this chart - easily the coolest football anthem ever recorded. 

For all the feels Three Lions may give us, World In Motion can not only send you back to a glorious summer just from its opening bars, but it's actually a really good record. 

New Order made football cool again at the start of the 1990s, by doing away with the naff England squad songs and instead realasing a indie classic, with a football flavour provided by Keith Allen. 

And, to top it off, it has the best bit of rapping ever rapping recoded by an English artist. A footballing Fresh Prince of a verse, that every England fan should know by heart. 

Never re-recorded, never redone, because the original cannot be beaten. 'Now catch me if you can, cos' I'm an England man....' 

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