I have not historically cared about soccer, but after spending a week in Italy—where World Cup excitement is already at a fever pitch, several weeks before the tournament officially begins on June 11—I have to admit that watching a match in a packed bar with a cold glass of wine in my hand sounds…pretty nice?
That revelation led me to a tour of World Cups past…or, more specifically, the history of World Cup songs, which have always had a way of getting stuck in our heads whether we liked them or not. But which were truly worthy of representing one of the most closely watched sports events in the world, and which left a little (or more) to be desired? Below, find a power ranking of every World Cup song that’s come out since the tradition began in 1990.
10. Anastacia, “Boom,” 2002
Some song had to come in last place, and for me it’s “Boom.” Yes, it packs a heavy early-aughts-nostalgia punch, but in sort of a bad way—i.e., it makes me think of the pop-cultural policing of young female stars and the original threat of skinny jeans, rather than whatever it is that was actually good about 2002.
9. “Live It Up” by Nicky Jam, featuring Will Smith and Era Istrefi, 2018
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