​“Come on England, come on Wonderwall.” That was the message again on Sunday morning from Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, as England’s traveling supporters – including former captain Sir David Beckham and his sons – sang his band’s most famous track with the players at full-time after their World Cup quarter-final victory over Norway in Miami. It has become a fresh tradition in recent weeks, echoing after each of the men’s team’s five wins across the United States and Mexico.
Speaking to the Sun after their opening win in Dallas, the song’s writer, Liam’s brother and bandmate Noel Gallagher, said: “Wonderwall belongs to the people, and it was a magical moment between the people and the players.” He also insisted he isn’t an England fan. Captain Harry Kane told the Lions’ Den podcast that the first spontaneous singalong was one of his “favourite ever moments in an England shirt.” His former teammate and now BBC Sport pundit Joe Hart reflected after the DR Congo game that such moments of unity, “phenomenal” as they are, allow players to “drop the mask, just for a few minutes, of being an elite professional.”
Norway fans and players may have joined in as well at this tournament with their own chorus and the “Viking row,” but, in the end, it’s Wonderwall that “resonates with being English,” one supporter told BBC Sport. While classic England anthems such as Three Lions, Vindaloo, World in Motion, and Sweet Caroline—the unexpected breakout hit from Euro 2020—continue to echo in pubs around the country, Wonderwall seems to be the song of the summer so far. The Oasis track, taken from their 1995 blockbuster album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory, re-entered the UK top 40 singles chart last week due to that initial viral moment, rising from 32 to 11 on Friday.
Back in 2008, just before Oasis dissolved, Liam Gallagher publicly claimed he “can’t stand singing that song” — the acoustically driven ballad that powered countless buskers’ dreams. Yet since then, he has performed it many times to great effect for devoted fans around the world during the band’s high-profile reunion tour last year. England’s players have stood with the crowd behind the goal for shared Oasis singalongs after wins in Dallas, New Jersey, Atlanta, Mexico City, and Miami, as captured by Getty Images.
Author and broadcaster PJ Harrison, who last year published Gallagher: The Rise and Fall of Oasis, finds the way pop songs are adopted by football crowds endlessly intriguing. He notes that in the 1960s there was a tradition of fans simply singing contemporary pop hits of the day. He believes what’s happening now with England and Wonderwall could not have been orchestrated. “You have the long lifespan of Wonderwall, then you’ve got the renewed interest with the tour. And obviously, if you’ve got to pick one song from that tour, it fits,” he explains. This phenomenon, he suggests, is part cultural phenomenon, part shared moment of identity, and it’s something that feels almost inevitable when a band with such a storied past becomes linked with a national team’s triumphs.
As England’s campaign continues, the bond between the players, the fans, and the song persists. Wonderwall has transcended being merely a chart-topping hit and has become a unifying anthem for a nation celebrating its footballing highs, a track that seems to perfectly capture the mood of a moment when sport, music, and collective pride intertwine.