Oasis’s iconic 1995 track Wonderwall has experienced a remarkable surge in popularity, with listener numbers rocketing by more than 300 per cent following England’s victory against Mexico in the 2026 World Cup.
The classic anthem has firmly established itself as an unofficial soundtrack to the Three Lions’ campaign, with the men’s squad themselves joining fans in singing the hit after their triumphs.
This burgeoning tradition first took hold after England’s decisive 4-2 win against Croatia in their opening group game of the tournament and has since continued through every subsequent fixture.
The familiar strains of Wonderwall were once again heard after a thrilling 3-2 triumph over Mexico, a match that concluded in the early hours of Monday morning due to this year’s competition being hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The Grammy-nominated track received 306% more listeners during the hour after the win compared to the same hour the previous day, according data from streaming service Spotify.
It said that streams rose from 1,628 to 6,614 after the nail-biting match finished, with Wonderwall racking up an 18% overall daily increase and a total of 200,441 streams across the full 24-hour period.
Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher has shown support for the rise in popularity of the song, having previously told England fans to “keep the biblical vibrations going”.
The Manchester-born rocker also joked about team captain Harry Kane appearing to have lost his voice when struggling to speak in an interview with BBC Sport on Monday, saying “it’s hard work that singing”.
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Written by Gallagher’s brother Noel, Oasis’s Wonderwall reached number two on the UK singles chart upon its release in the 1990s and has become one of their best-known songs.
Spotify found that it is not the only track to receive a spike in listeners around the World Cup games, with Three Lions by David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and The Lightning Seeds receiving almost 20,000 streams ahead of the recent match.
The song, which has been a football anthem since its 1996 release, had a 5,105% rise in listeners in the hour before the game launching it from 331 to 17,229 streams.
It received 7,200 streams the hour after England’s victory – which was a 1,452% increase to the same time the previous day – and has also sustained an 82% increase in listeners across the 24-hour period before and after the game.
Spotify said other songs which received a surge in listeners include Vindaloo by Fat Les, which was originally written as a parody of football chants but has since become ingrained in the sport.
The streaming service added that among the tracks with strong ties to football were Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond and We’re On The Ball by Ant and Dec – which was the 2002 World Cup anthem.
Other songs spiking in popularity through the tournament – particularly the recent England game – include World In Motion by New Order and Freed From Desire by Gala.
