It’s actually coming home. Don’t believe it? Just ask the trifecta of British football, Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Rio Ferdinand.
The triple-threat were filmed on camera at dinner last night singing along to Three Lions, much like the rest of the country were, presumably.
You can watch their glorious three-part harmony below:
England secured their place in the semi-finals of this World Cup with minimal fuss on Saturday afternoon as they beat Sweden 2-0, keeping their first clean sheet of the tournament.
As Gary put it on Twitter, during the match: It shouldn’t be this easy.
We’ve had 52 years of hurt which says it should be harder than this, but no one wants to jinx it just yet, and there’s ‘a long way to go’.
But no England football fan is strong enough to deny themselves the sheer joy of getting through to the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018.
With that joy comes the inevitable cheers, memes, chants and screams of, ‘It’s Coming Home!’
We first heard the phrase in 1996, thanks to the dulcet tones of David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and the Lightning Seeds. They sang with gusto the year England hosted its first major tournament since the 1966 World Cup.
Let’s take a little trip down memory lane:
Now it’s meaning has taken on a much more profound significance, and basically means England will win.
Here’s how it goes:
Cause I remember three lions on a shirt! / Jules Rimet still gleaming,
Thirty years of hurt / Never stopped me dreaming.
No one can resist the old charm of blind patriotism and team spirit:
…Especially not the BBC pundits apparently.
On Saturday evening, after the match, former England captain Alan Shearer tweeted a video from the BBC pundits’ dinner, claiming the group were having just ‘a little party’.
Panning to Gary Lineker and Rio Ferdinand, the bunch burst into Three Lions, as Shearer realised he was settling in for ‘a long night’.
Hours later, his prediction has come true, as Rio took to Twitter to share a video of Alan singing Lionel Ritchie’s All Night Long into a breadstick, congratulating everyone back home for the big celebrations he was watching from afar.
As you do, Alan.
You can watch the breadstick karaoke below:
The celebrations are warranted.
This will be the first time England has reached a semi-final in a World Cup tournament since Italia 90.
The Three Lions secured their victory via Harry Maguire and Dele Alli’s headed goals either side if half time, respectively.
Every street corner of England was a scene of joy and pandemonium for the whole day today as the national team is one step closer to reaching their first World Cup final since 1966.
The Three Lions entered this tournament with one of the youngest and most inexperienced squads. Furthermore, expectations were relatively low.
Considering this is the standard, it’s no surprise:
Now with Sweden put to rest in yesterday’s quarter-final this young and hungry squad can focus on preparing for a semi-final clash with Croatia.
Gareth Southgate’s men will face Croatia on Wednesday, July 11, after the team knocked out Russia last night in a tense penalty shoot-out. Kick off is 19:00 BST.
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A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.