​Cmon England, cmon Wonderwall. That was the message again on Sunday morning from Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, after England’s travelling supporters — including Sir David Beckham — sang the band’s most famous track with the players at full-time following their World Cup quarter-final victory over Norway in Miami. It has become a fresh tradition in recent weeks, a chorus that belts out after each of the men’s team’s wins across the United States and Mexico.
Liam’s brother and former Oasis bandmate Noel Gallagher spoke to the Sun after England’s first win in Dallas, saying: “Wonderwall belongs to the people, and it was a magical moment between the people and the players.” He also claimed not to be an England fan. Captain Harry Kane told the Lions’ Den podcast that the first impromptu singalong was one of his “favourite ever moments in an England shirt.” His former teammate and now BBC Sport pundit Joe Hart observed after the DR Congo game that such “phenomenal” moments of unity let players “drop the mask, just for a few minutes, of being an elite professional.”
Norway fans and players may have united in a similar fashion with their own “Viking row,” but it’s Wonderwall that, as one fan told BBC Sport, “resonates with being English.” While traditional England anthems like Three Lions, Vindaloo, World in Motion, and even Sweet Caroline—the unexpected breakout hit from Euro 2020—remain audible in pubs across the country, Wonderwall seems to be the song of the summer so far. Oasis’s 1995 hit from their bestselling (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? album re-entered the UK top 40 singles chart last week thanks to the viral moment, climbing from 32 to 11 on Friday.
Back in 2008, just before Oasis split, Liam announced that he “can’t stand singing that song.” The acoustic ballad that launched a thousand buskers, however, has since found a second life, performed by the band on their reunion tour last year to huge applause from fans around the world. England players have been seen facing the stands behind the goal for shared Oasis singalongs after wins in Dallas, New Jersey, Atlanta, Mexico City, and Miami.
Author and broadcaster PJ Harrison, who published Gallagher: The Rise and Fall of Oasis last year, finds the phenomenon of pop songs being adopted by football fans utterly fascinating. He notes that in the 1960s there was a tradition of fans simply singing the pop hits of the day, and he believes what is happening now with England and Wonderwall could not have been orchestrated. “You have the long lifespan of Wonderwall, then you have the renewed interest with the tour. And obviously, if you’ve got to put one song on from that tour, that fits. Then it’s just a matter of the DJ having the right moment.”