Oasis's 1995 song "Wonderwall" has become England's unofficial anthem at the 2026 World Cup. It started with a single DJ playing it after one match and has spread to every stadium where English fans have gathered in the United States.

Here's how it happened. After England beat Croatia 4-2 in their opening game, a DJ in Texas played Wonderwall and the crowd loved it so much they kept singing it. By the time the team reached New Jersey, Harry Kane and the other players were singing it side-by-side with fans. Anthony Gordon, one of the players, talked about this moment on a podcast episode. Kane said what moved him was seeing how much the song meant to the fans. Back in June, Kane had even said he hoped Wonderwall would "become the soundtrack of the summer."

Even the manager got involved. On June 23, Thomas Tuchel and the squad stood in front of the England fans and sang along while the song played. This was unusual—managers don't normally do that during a tournament. Other players like Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo talked about the singing afterward. Fans have sung it at every stadium where England has played.

Why This Song, Why Right Now

Why has Wonderwall, in particular, taken off? PJ Harrison, who wrote a book about Oasis, explained that the song works for football crowds for two simple reasons. First, the words don't really mean anything specific—no one needs to understand what they're about. Second, the melody is simple and everyone knows it by now (it's been around for 30 years). A song sticks around on the terraces—the areas where fans stand and sing—if people can sing it loudly when they've had a few drinks and they're packed together.

Russell Osborne, who hosts a football podcast, thinks part of the appeal is nostalgia. Many of the fans travelling to the World Cup grew up in the 1990s, when Oasis was huge and England felt like a confident, successful country. That memory pulls at people. He also points out something interesting: fans give the players something to cling to when they're far from home, and the players singing back gives fans a sense they're all working together toward something.

Newspapers played a role too. The Sun newspaper ran a campaign to make Wonderwall England's official anthem, and Noel Gallagher, the singer from Oasis, gave them an interview supporting the idea. FIFA then covered Gallagher's support on its own websites. But here's the thing: newspaper campaigns don't usually create fan culture from scratch. They usually jump on something that's already happening. In this case, the DJ played it first, then the newspaper joined in.

What Happened Before—And What Comes Next

England has had unofficial anthems at previous tournaments, and none of them lasted. At Euro 2020, fans sang "Sweet Caroline." At Euro 2024, they sang "Angels" by Robbie Williams. Both songs were huge during those tournaments. Both disappeared once the tournaments ended. One expert thinks Wonderwall will do the same.

But England's women's team tells a different story. The Lionesses have sung "Sweet Caroline" since they won their championships in 2022 and kept singing it in 2025. Winning seems to help a song stick around. It's hard to know if this means anything for the men's tournament, but fans will certainly be watching for it.

Now England faces its biggest test. They're playing Mexico next, in Mexico City, in the middle of a Mexican evening (which is 1am back in the UK). Playing away at Mexico's stadium is one of the hardest environments in international football—the other team's fans far outnumber yours, and the atmosphere is intense. No one knows yet whether Wonderwall will travel there or whether it will stay a feature of the American stadiums where England fans outnumber their opponents. The song came from good feelings and a packed crowd. Mexico City will be very different.

There's one more thing worth noting. In an earlier match, England needed a Harry Kane goal just to avoid a shocking defeat to a less-favored team. So while the players and fans have been singing together happily, the tournament has already thrown them a scare. That's often how tournaments go—the song keeps playing, but the scoreline tells a different story.