World Cup: 5 football songs to sing along to

Whether it is Liverpool’s anthem, You’ll Never Walk Alone, or the latest earworm at the World Cup, Argentina fan favourite Muchachos, Ahora Nos Volvimos a Ilusionar, football songs have united and serenaded supporters around the world.

As the world’s biggest football tournament draws to a close on Sunday, The Straits Times looks at five football anthems fans can sing along to.

“Muchachos, Ahora Nos Volvimos a Ilusionar” by La Mosca (2021)

From the Argentina dressing room to the stadium’s stands, this catchy tune has players and fans alike dancing and singing at the team’s games.

Written by Argentine band La Mosca in 2003, the song was re-adapted by Fernando Romero in September 2021 after they won the Copa America that year.

The song, documenting Argentina’s topsy-turvy journey over the past years, has become a war cry for Argentinians to motivate their players in Qatar.

Celebrating their football icons Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi – who is aiming for his first World Cup trophy in his final tournament – it is no wonder the tune has everyone leaping out of their seats and belting their hearts out.

Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond (1969)

As the only original song in this list, Sweet Caroline was adopted by English fans as their feel-good anthem – testament to the lyrics “Good times never seemed so good!” – during their run to the European Championship 2020 final in June last year.

When England beat Germany 2-0 in the quarter-finals at Wembley, stadium DJ Tony Perry decided to play Neil Diamond’s classic from 1969 – written three years after England’s first and only World Cup success.

England has other football classics like Three Lions and Vindaloo, and this love song may seem like an an unorthodox choice for a football anthem, but tell that to the fans singing “Sweet Caroline, PUM PUM PUM” at the top of their lungs.

Rise Up by Reggae Boyz (1998)

When Jamaica qualified for their first-ever World Cup in 1998, some of the biggest reggae stars in the country, including Ziggy Marley, son of reggae icon Bob Marley, came together to write a rallying song to support their players.

The catchy song was a big hit in the Carribean nation when it was released and serves as a poignant reminder of how the World Cup can unify a nation.

The Reggae Boyz have not been back to the Finals since, but supporters can at least savour this football tune.

Go Go Black Stars... Goal! by Wiyaala (2014)

This spiritual song, featuring tribal drums, was produced four years after Ghana’s maiden quarter-finals appearance at the 2010 World Cup, where they fell to Uruguay on penalties.

The Afro-Pop song, which made No. 15 on the Billboard chart, was penned by Ghanaian artist Wiyaala before the 2014 World Cup.

While the energising song failed to lift the Black Stars past the group stages, it brought together enclaves of Ghanaians in Brazil proudly belting out its chorus, “So here we go, Go go go go go go go go go Ghana, Go go go … Goal!”, some 7,000km away from their homeland.

Dream Team Steam (1993)

Closer to home, Singapore came up with a song featuring its national team players in 1993, one year before the Lions’ last Malaysia Cup win in the final against Pahang.

The anthem featured household names like Fandi Ahmad, Nazri Nasir, Abbas Saad, Jang Jung, Lim Tong Hai and captain Razali Saad.

Each player had a unique line in the song, beginning with captain Razali screaming “play ball!”. Fan-favourite Abbas chimed in with “Wham, bam eat the jam, I’m Abbas” and who can forget defender Jang Jung’s “I’m Jang Jung and I will take you out”?

“PO$PON” by podcast group OKLETSGO, a remix produced during National Day last year in collaboration with hardcore fan group Singabrigade, has since become Singapore’s football chant but fans can still take a trip down memory lane with the Dream Team of ‘93.