Every major tournament brings the same rituals. The wall charts are blue-tacked, retro shirts surface, and classic melodies get belted out.
For more than half a century, musicians, comedians and FA executives have tried to bottle the peculiar experience of backing England. A couple have been woven into the fabric of the national consciousness. Others remain uploads on YouTube.
Ahead of England's World Cup opener on Wednesday, ESPN have ranked the five greatest songs ever attached to the Three Lions, from chart-topping singalongs to cult classics, with a few honourable mentions that narrowly missed the cut.
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5. This Time, We'll Get It Right, England World Cup squad -- 1982
What's so brilliant about this song (aside from the gloriously vaudeville-sounding arrangement) is the immediate acknowledgement in the title that previously, England had been getting it wrong.
The title now carries an unavoidable touch of irony. England had not won a major tournament since 1966, and the song's confident titular promise was ultimately undermined when England went out in the second group stage (the last year this format was used.)
Yet there remains something undeniably stirring about it. Earnest, optimistic and utterly lacking in cynicism, it captures an era when England approached major tournaments with expectation rather than self-deprecating humour. Perhaps we've returned to it.
4. Back Home, England World Cup squad -- 1970
England entered the 1970 World Cup -- as I'm sure you're aware -- as reigning world champions. For the following tournament, the FA wanted to follow up with an official England anthem to keep supporters accompanied -- given the side would be halfway across the planet in Mexico.
Recorded by the squad themselves, Back Home is a stirring, brass-heavy singalong whose sheer existence feels faintly absurd today. Thomas Tuchel already has a number of selection issues, but I'd be delighted if he got more -- would the voice types of Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers work on the same track?
The tune topped the UK charts, although England's defence of the World Cup ended in the quarterfinals with defeat to West Germany. That's right -- there is a UK No. 1 single with Bobby Moore and Sir Geoff Hurst among the vocalists.
3. Vindaloo, Fat Les -- 1998
"We're gonna score one more than you -- England!"
Simple, right? But less, as we know, is more. Recorded by Fat Les, a tongue-in-cheek supergroup featuring Blur bassist Alex James alongside comedian Keith Allen and artist Damien Hirst, the song was conceived as a spoof of football anthems and laddish England culture -- the video itself a hilarious parody of that of The Verve's Bitter Sweet Symphony (which is in itself an honorary England classic.)
Yet like some of the best satire, it was rooted in genuine affection. Rather than mocking supporters, Vindaloo celebrates the absurdity, humour and self-awareness that have long accompanied following the national team. Its core message is one that has aged beautifully: 'We like football, our team intend to win, and we really, really like Indian takeaway'.
A top-tier '90s tune.
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2. Three Lions (Football's Coming Home), Baddiel, Skinner and the Lightning Seeds -- 1996
No England song is more closely tied to its moment than Three Lions. Released in 1996 as the country prepared to host the Euros, it arrived at the height of Britpop, Cool Britannia and a renewed sense of optimism about England itself. Oasis and Blur were battling for chart supremacy, football was shedding its grim 1980s image, and it was trendy to be British once more.
Musically, it remains one of the strongest sports songs ever written. The Lightning Seeds' Ian Broudie was a shrewd composer and musician, delivering an instantly memorable melody and a hook that is repeatable by those who have never heard the song. Unlike many tournament anthems, Three Lions even succeeds totally outside of its football merit.
Its genius, though, lies in its honesty and irony. Rather than promising glory, it acknowledges decades -- now six of them -- of disappointment and near misses. Thirty years on, it remains the soundtrack to every summer in which fans convince themselves that, just maybe, it may be England's year.
The line that sums this tune up best? "I know that was then, but it could be again," before the final chorus. And the chord change there? Goosebumps.
1. World in Motion, New Order -- 1990
If football songs are supposed to represent a moment, then World in Motion goes one better by capturing an entire ethos. Released ahead of Italia '90, the FA turned to New Order -- the post-punk pioneers who spent the 1980s blurring the lines between indie rock, synth-pop and club music. The fact they ended up recording a football song (still derided in some circles) should have been absurd.
Instead, they produced a classic. World in Motion sounds effortless. Bernard Sumner tells the squad -- which featured Gary Lineker, Paul Gascoigne and Stuart Pearce -- to "express yourself, create the space," which was achieved until the very end of the semifinals: when it was Germany, on penalties, again.
And to cap it all off, John Barnes drops a rap verse -- which he pulls off with enough swagger that generations of England fans can still recite every word. Don't forget, New Order emerged after the tragic end of Joy Division, so there's no shortage of musicality in the squad -- from bass, drums to left-winger.
It was New Order's only No. 1, which is a surprise given their discography (Blue Monday went to No. 9!) -- but a testament to what some positivity on a 90s beat can do.
Honourable mentions
Shout for England, Dizzee Rascal, James Corden, Tears for Fears -- 2012
That list of artists could have been a chat show lineup, really. "Pull your socks up, let's get physical -- we need teamwork, we don't need a miracle," spits Dizzee, interspersed with rehashes of the classic Tears chorus. Very, very 2012.
We're On The Ball, Ant and Dec -- 2002
Another officially sanctioned England song (something that needs to return, really), the two British television mainstays remind us just how good that squad was, with Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand and David Beckham all namechecked. Singable enough.
(How Does It Feel to Be) On Top of the World, England United, --1998
On paper, this song should have been unstoppable. With members of Echo & the Bunnymen, Ocean Colour Scene, Space and the Spice Girls, the song practically brought together Avengers of late-1990s British music. But despite the cast list and release for the 1998 World Cup, it never quite bedded itself into the national consciousness.