The Five Best (or Worst) Football Songs in Major Tournaments

With Euro 2016 just around the corner we have looked at some of the best football songs recoreded for major football tournaments, featruing Northern Ireland's effort for France this summer.

 

Northern Ireland have already got their Euro 2016 song recorded but some of the other famous football songs recorded for major tournaments are either brilliant or truly awful – refresh your memory with our run down of the top five below.

 

Sing When You’re Winning: Northern Ireland Record Euro 2016 Song And It’s Ermm…

There’s nothing quite as exciting as a summer of football. It prolongs the season and means afternoons sat in the sun, pint in hand cheering on your nation. For the likes of Wales and Northern Ireland that’s a rare treat, so you won’t be surprised to hear the latter have recorded an anthem to send Michael O’Neill and his boys to France with the whole country behind them.

 

The song has been written by Vincent Soye, the man behind the 1986 Mexico World Cup song, with the lyrics going a little something like this…

 

Northern Ireland are the greatest, what a football team,

“We’ll sing it out loud for the boys in green.

We’ll cheer them on wherever they play,

We’re the Green and White Army we’re on our way.

Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland.

They said we couldn’t make it, we didn’t have a chance,

Now they’re gonna believe us, we’re on our way to France.

The lads will give it everything,

We’ll follow them and we will sing.

Michael O’Neill and his squad of men have led

Northern Ireland to glory once again,

In Europe they will be the Kings.

When they play in France they will hear us sing…”

 

But Northern Ireland aren’t the only country to have produced a song for a major tournament. Here are our favourite European Championship and World Cup songs of all time:

 

Three Lions – Baddiel & Skinner

 

A home tournament in England doesn’t happen very often so England went all out and produced one of the greatest football songs ever. Written by Baddiel & Skinner alongside the Lightning Seeds, Three Lions gave England fans real belief, and if the team was any good it’d be still sung on the terraces to this day.

 

It was re-worked after Euro ’96 for France ’98, and you’d expect England fans to be cheering Roy’s boys on with the anthem across the channel once again.

 

Ta Fete – Stromae

 

You wouldn’t believe it, but Stromae is one of Belgium and in fact Europe’s biggest pop stars and for the last World Cup he lowered himself to producing a World Cup antherm for his home nation. The video is interesting to say the least and includes the entire Belgium squad.

 

It’s catchy to say the least. We anticipate you’ll be walking around for the rest of the day singing “TAAAA FEEEETTEEE” anyway.

 

More Than A Game – Towe Jaarnek & Peter Joback

 

Less catchy is this. In fact, it’s truly awful. Written for Euro ’92 it’s typical early 90s music and told the world football was more than a game – as if we didn’t already know.

 

It appears to have been adopted by a Portuguese fan on YouTube, accompanying the song with a montage of Portugal players including Cristiano Ronaldo (obviously), Ricardo Carvalho, and a big fat man with a white moustache (pictured).

 

 

The song itself peaked at number 30 in the Swedish charts, and following the tournament it was forgotten forever, apart from one Portuguese fan who it seemingly really touched.

 

World In Motion – New Order

 

World in Motion is actually a very good song in its own right and was released in 1990 by influential new wave band New Order as well as Gazza and hip-hop superstar/England left winger John Barnes.

 

The song is often touted as one of the best football songs ever and we have to agree. There are lots of rumours that surround the song, with John Barnes apparently writing his own rap and performing it in just one take!