England fans are blaming a disastrous celebrity cover of Oasis's Wonderwall for the team's World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina. The BBC released the video ahead of the match but quickly removed it after widespread backlash. However, the clip was shared on X by user CTNI88 (Chris), who captioned it: 'I can't put into words how angry I am at this.'
Celebrity line-up causes outrage
The video features a baffling array of British celebrities, including Micah Richards, Ross Kemp, Claudia Winkleman, Greg James, David Baddiel, Maya Jama, Jon Kay, Stephen Fry, Lee Mack, Michael McIntyre, Miranda Hart, Emma Raducanu, and Clive Myrie. Notably, Oasis brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher did not participate. Fans were quick to mock the rendition, with many claiming it was worse than the infamous celebrity cover of John Lennon's Imagine during the pandemic.
'Fully deserved to go out for this alone. Fair play?' said NotThatHughes on X. LucaHelvetica agreed: 'Deserved to lose just for this.' Jason Reid added: 'This is why England lost.' AliceHarperGC wrote: 'Ok we definitely deserved to lose, the universe does not let things this bad go unpunished.'
Wonderwall's rise as England anthem
The Oasis track became England's unofficial anthem after it was played over stadium speakers following the team's 4-2 win over Croatia. The crowd at AT&T Stadium gave a roaring rendition as Harry Kane scored a double, with additional goals from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford. Bellingham was seen singing along on the pitch, while Kane appeared emotional. Noel Gallagher told The Sun: 'Wonderwall belongs to the people, and it was a magical moment between the people and the players.'
Despite its popularity, the 30-year-old song never reached number one in the UK, peaking at number two in 1995. It has since re-entered the top 100 multiple times. Liam Gallagher once compared the track to Imagine, saying: 'People love it and people hate it. I'm not comparing it to Imagine, but a lot of people say, “Imagine — f**k that,” but some people say it's one of the best songs around.'
Backlash and comparisons
Fans called the celebrity cover 'cringe-inducing' and 'absolute car crash content'. PootballFundit branded it 'absolute car crash content'. Comparisons to the Imagine cover were inevitable, with many deeming the Wonderwall rendition worse. The BBC's website now shows an error message when trying to access the video.
