England beneath the wall of its supporters at the end of the match is one of the images that will remain from this World Cup. A wall of wonders, perhaps. Not only the singing that follows every final whistle, every victory, but the song itself: Oasis’s “Wonderwall”, the Britpop classic that has accompanied the Three Lions all the way to their semi-final against Argentina in Atlanta. For those who somehow do not know it, the song was released in 1995 and appeared on (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, the cult album by the Manchester band who reunited last year after years of conflict between brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher. Now “Wonderwall” is living another moment of its own. Figures from entertainment analytics company Luminate show that, in the United Kingdom, weekly streams of Oasis songs have more than doubled over the past week, rising from fewer than one million plays recorded at the beginning of June to more than two million. Worldwide, streams are up by 40 per cent. The song has also returned to the UK singles Top 40.
After England’s opening World Cup victory over Croatia, Spotify recorded a 50 per cent increase in plays. After the win over Mexico at the Azteca, the image became familiar: players standing shoulder to shoulder, joining the supporters’ chorus. “Wonderwall belongs to the people,” Noel Gallagher recently told The Sun. At Euro 2020, the soundtrack to the English summer was “Sweet Caroline”. Since then, Oasis have returned, with the announcement of the band’s reunion in 2024 sending UK streaming figures soaring to four times their previous level in a single week. For this World Cup, the English Football Association had put forward “Sweet Caroline” to FIFA as the song to follow victories, alongside David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and the Lightning Seeds’ “Three Lions” — the anthem behind “It’s Coming Home”. The stadiums, however, had already chosen. The playlists are prepared and adapted from match to match by FIFA’s entertainment teams, together with representatives from the participating nations. Liam Gallagher, meanwhile, has made his position clear on X (“If we get to the final, we’ll take everything”), ending speculation over a possible performance and confirming that, should England win, he will join the players and supporters on the pitch to sing. One more reason to believe.