Music has become the unofficial star of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Per FIFA’s request, all participating teams selected an anthem to play after each win—and they’ve become become pop culture badges of honor.
While the United States chose John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” According to ESPN, England went with Oasis’s hit “Wonderwall.”
Led by brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, Oasis released the chart-topper in 1995. Thanks to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the song is having a renaissance of its own.
England chooses “Wonderwall”
Right away, the song became a hit with soccer fans and England’s players. England’s Harry Kane shared his thoughts on hearing the song played following the team’s first round win on a podcast, via ESPN: “That was one of my favourite ever moments in an England shirt and especially at a major tournament,” he said. “I know it’s just the first game and we’re not getting carried away, but just that emotional connection with the fans…we know how much it means to them. We have that connection right now but just that moment, singing ‘Wonderwall’ in the stadium. Everyone knew the words and that was a really special moment.”
Oasis responds to World Cup hype
The song’s popularity is also making a mark on music charts. According to Billboard, “Wonderwall” has made its way all the way up to the No. 2 spot on streaming platform Spotify’s top 50 global chart. A day after England’s July 11th quarterfinal win against Norway, data showed “Wonderwall” was streamed a whopping 1.3 million times in the United States.
Oasis itself has jumped in to encourage the song’s support for England. On July 15, Liam Gallagher posted on X, “It’s hard work that singing Harry Kane cmon ENGLAND cmon WONDERWALL.”
In an interview with The Sun, Noel Gallagher shared, “‘Wonderwall’ belongs to the people, and it was a magical moment between the people and the players. Best of luck to everyone who’s made the trip out there.”
The story behind “Wonderwall”
It turns out Oasis’s “Wonderwall” would not exist without The Beatles. Specifically, George Harrison.
Harrison wrote the soundtrack music for the 1968 film Wonderwall—a record that Noel Gallagher got his hands on, per the BBC. The film’s title went on to become the name of the band’s most popular song. Per NME, it was the biggest selling Britpop song of the 1990s.
It appeared on the band’s second studio album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? Gallagher shared with the BBC, “I don’t really remember the process of writing it. I probably wrote it down on scraps of paper and finished it off at the studio.”
The inspiration behind the song was rumored to be about Gallagher’s ex-wife, Meg Mathews. In 2002, Gallagher told BBC 2, “The meaning of that song was taken away from me by the media who jumped on it. And how do you tell your Mrs it’s not about her once she’s read it is? It’s a song about an imaginary friend who’s gonna come and save you from yourself.
In an interview with CBS Mornings in 2021, Gallagher shared his thoughts on the song’s legacy. When asked about past statements that he doesn’t “like” the hit song, Gallagher set the record straight:
“One of my least favorite recordings. The song is great,” he said. “The song is actually…we still haven’t finished it. I would’ve longed for a pandemic back then, I would have finished it properly. It’s got one verse and one chorus, and that’s really it. It’s ironic that the biggest album that we ever made is a load of half-finished songs.”
