A Guide to Music in Soccer

Just in time for the World Cup, delve into the magic moments when soccer and music have crossed paths—from songs that are staples in the stands to the players who’ve been immortalized in lyrics.

The terraces are where soccer and music first came together. Since the late 19th century in England, fans have been collectively expressing themselves through song. The chants that take off share a crucial element at their core—a melody that connects. The words may be new, but the tunes are taken from the charts or classic folk songs. Like the biggest hits, the best terrace anthems go global. The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” was originally turned into a chant by the fans of Belgian team Club Brugge, then AS Roma’s supporters transported it to Italy in 2006. By the time Italy won the World Cup that summer, the entire nation was wordlessly hollering along to its guitar riff. It’s since grown to the point that’s it’s not a White Stripes song anymore. It’s a soccer song.

Ahead of a major international competition, many countries will commission an official anthem—but it’s sometimes songs purposely unaligned with a soccer federation that capture the mood of a nation. Think “Three Lions” bottling the pathos and against-all-odds hope that soccer might be “coming home” to England in 1996 (and every two years since). The best modern example of a commissioned mega-success is Shakira’s “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)”—FIFA’s official anthem for the 2010 World Cup. Its Afropop groove took on a life of its own, becoming one of Shakira’s signature hits. No wonder FIFA have turned to her again for the 2026 World Cup song, teaming her with Burna Boy for “Dai Dai.”

Being name-checked in rap has become a badge of honour. A generation of UK rap heroes led by Stormzy, Dave, and AJ Tracey rarely pass up lyrical open goals to pay their respects to soccer’s finest. Elsewhere, the GOATs—Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo—have been saluted by Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake, Didier Drogba inspired Afro B’s viral Afrobeats-rap crossover hit “Drogba (Joanna),” Berlin’s Luciano gave Algeria captain Riyad Mahrez props on “Roli,” while “Skurt Cobain” saw French MC Sneazzy hail compatriot Zinedine Zidane. And outside rap, shout-out to Irish country-pop star CMAT. Who did she turn to when she needed to reference someone bald? Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany on a 2023 song of the same name.

Perhaps hungry for more creative expression than their coach’s disciplined tactics allow, some players take the leap into making their own music. That might be as a brief diversion from playing—Dutch legend Ruud Gullit never followed up his 1984 reggae-pop single “Not the Dancing Kind”—but others have fashioned more sustained music careers. Portugal will be hoping Rafael Leão can take the confidence that drips off his WAY 45 rap projects into the World Cup, with Holland hoping the same from their own talismanic forward-cum-rapper, Memphis Depay. However, the most successful transition from stadium to studio belongs to former Real Madrid youth team keeper Julio Iglesias, whose injury-curtailed career was a precursor to selling over 250 million albums.

If chants emerge and grow organically, then the goal celebration song is usually more prescribed. Stadium PAs worldwide now blast a variety of jubilant songs, ranging from the can-can (Bayern Munich) to Blur’s “Song 2” (Juventus and France, among others) and Real Madrid’s specially commissioned and typically bombastic “Hala Madrid …y nada más.” They’re tracks that evoke the sort of instant euphoria that can only be punctured by a VAR check. For the 2022 World Cup, FIFA asked competing nations to choose their own goal celebration music. England, Poland, and Switzerland all picked the same Italian Eurodance staple: Gala’s “Freed from Desire.” It was a safe choice given that it had already been interpolated as a popular terrace anthem—and proof that, as always, soccer’s most authentic music moments come blessed by the fans.