Yahoo News Ant and Dec's underrated England anthem 'crying out' to be re-released for Euro 2024
It's hard to believe, but it's actually been 22 years since Ant and Dec headed back into the recording studio for the first time since their PJ & Duncan days to record a football song that is far too often overlooked by England fans, despite being a certified banger.
Yes, there is no denying that Three Lions is rightfully the go-to for supporters when it comes to getting behind the national team but now, as we once again fill ourselves with optimism (we'll forget about last week's Iceland friendly!) and believe that it could really be 'coming home' it is about time that we gave Ant and Dec's track We're on the Ball the credit it deserves.
Released as the official England song for the World Cup back in 2002 when the Geordie duo were best known for being the hosts of Pop Idol,, We're on the Ball was never going to have that instant on the terraces appeal of a Three Lions or Vindaloo, but it did have a segment whose words come flooding back to you as quickly as the John Barnes rap in World of Motion.
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Sing 'It's Neville to Campbell, Campbell to Rio...'" to any England fan of a certain age and they'll be able to complete the sequence of players that ended with Michael Owen. And it is that bit of We're on the Ball, which came with a video that saw Dec dressed as then England manager Sven Goran Eriksson and Ant as the Swedish boss' assistant, Tord Grip, that makers it the perfect candidate for a reworked version for Euro 2024.
Players like Kyle Walker, John Stones, Kieran Trippier and Harry Kane are bound to love their names become song lyrics, with the chance for a new generation of England fans to have their own We're on the Ball to singalong to. Three Lions has now got four different versions to its name, most recently IT's Coming Home (For Christmas) for the 2022 World Cup; surely We're on the Ball deserves a second?
The love for We're on the Ball is there for all to see on social media. Writing on X, one fan wrote: "Is it time for us all to accept that Ant & Dec’s 2002 track ‘We’re on the ball’ is actually a banger and needs to be respected more and adopted back into the footballing mainstream?"
Also well in support of We're on the Ball getting more recognition, playing Ant & Dec, We’re on the Ball and feeling a lot better about everything"
It's.....over to you lads!
