"Kick Off the Drama: Which World Cup Anthem Will Crown the Ultimate Champion of Earworms?"
Added on July 19, 2026 inFree Music News
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While you’re wrapped up in the thrill of the World Cup, have you ever paused to think about the soundtrack accompanying those epic matches? Just like the ever-changing stars in the cosmos that influence our lives daily, the music released during this spectacular tournament reflects the vibrant cultures and exuberant emotions surrounding the beautiful game. Over the years, we’ve witnessed legendary artists stepping up to lend their voices, from the infectious rhythms of Ricky Martin to Shakira’s iconic “Waka Waka.” As we prepare for the next installment in 2026—where Shakira makes her return—let’s dive into the top 10 FIFA World Cup anthems, ranked not just by their melodic brilliance but also by their popularity, measured by streams on Spotify! Join me as we celebrate these unforgettable musical moments that resonate just as strongly as the goals scored on the pitch. LEARN MORE.
While everyone is understandably focussed on the football itself at the World Cup, the tournament has also seen some big songs released over the years.
There have been some big names over the years, including Ricky Martin of ‘Livin’ La Vida Loca ‘fame, no not the Shrek 2 version, as well as Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez, and Will Smith.
Shakira has returned for the World Cup song of 2026, having previously written the official song for 2010 with the hugely successful ‘Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)’.
The World Cup has seen some iconic musical moments over the years, and an honourable mention has to go to the Three Tenors Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, and Luciano Pavarotti with their astonishing rendition of the aria Nessun Dorma from Puccini’s opera Turandot in 1990.
We’ve ranked our top 10 FIFA World Cup anthems, and as music is highly subjective we’ve gone by the number of streams on Spotify, with one exception.
Honourable mention to the Three Tenors in 1990, though this wasn’t an official song (Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
We’re starting off in 2002, when the World Cup was held in Japan and South Korea.
Anastacia’s song was called the tournament’s ‘official song’, while the ‘official anthem’ was called Anthem by Vangelis.
It has notched up 348,454 plays on Spotify since its release.
This was another time that the US hosted the World Cup back in 1994, with that year’s anthem being based on a hymn.
It also featured accompaniment from the ensemble Sounds of Blackness, and features gospel choirs, synths, and saxophones in a big, showy tune.
The full song does not appear to be on Spotify, but the ‘official version’ on YouTube has 561,000 views.
Moving into the millions of streams now, this is a slow ballad style song, featuring lots of singing about dreams of glory.
Zeit dass sich was dreht (Celebrate The Day) by Herbert Grönemeyer featuring Amadou & Mariam was the official anthem in 2006.
As for The Time of Our Lives, this had some 5,478,968 streams at the time of writing.
Ricky Martin performing at the 1998 World Cup (GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP via Getty Images)
With the title meaning ‘An Italian Summer’, this was the official song for 1990, and even climbed to number one in the Italian charts that year.
It’s also got some 59,114,850 streams on Spotify, taking us into the tens of millions in dramatic style.
But despite this Un’Estate italiana would not go on to be remembered as the the defining song of the 1990 World Cup, as that would be taken by Luciano Pavarotti and the Three Tenors’ iconic rendition of Nessun Dorma on the eve of the final in Rome, which is credited with opening up opera and classical music to a wider audience.
The Livin’ La Vida Loca star was riding high on the success of his hit when he wrote La Copa de la Vida for the tournament in 1998.
This song might be a little lower down this list, but the Latin-style beats are reflective of later World Cup songs.
As for the number of streams that it’s had, it clocks in at 60,704,295.
Moving into the top five now and we have Hayya Hayya (Better Together), with a title that quotes the Arabic exhortation ‘hayya’ meaning ‘let’s go!’ in a nod to the host nation Qatar.
Argentina went all the way to become the champions in Qatar in 2022.
The song has notched up some 65,044,492 streams on Spotify, putting it in third place.
Shakira has not one but two entries on this list (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
The 2018 World Cup controversially took place in Russia, with France emerging as the victors that year, marking their second World Cup win.
And yes, that is the Will Smith credited on the song, with the Hollywood celebrity credited for vocals and composition.
On Spotify the song moves into more than 100 million, with 171,172,906 streams.
This year’s official song has rocketed up into the top three on streams, with 188,952,736 streams on Spotify.
Shakira and Burna Boy took to the stage in both the inauguration and the halftime show at the final, the first time a FIFA tournament had a Super Bowl style halftime show.
And as we’ll see, it’s not Shakira’s only entry on this list.
Brazil hosted the World Cup in 2014, with the song featuring some carvinal-esque themes, though some Brazilians criticised it for not feeling Brazilian enough.
Germany would go on to claim victory in 2014, beating Argentina in the final.
As for the official song, it’s done something right as it has 464,022,044 Spotify streams at the time of writing.
If anyone can be called the queen of the World Cup songs, it has to be Shakira.
Not only does the Colombian artist have two of the top three most streamed World Cup songs, but the top spot Waka Waka (This Time For Africa) for the South Africa-hosted 2010 tournament has a massive number of Spotify streams.
In face, it managed to get more than a billion stream, yes billion with a B, with a total of 1,115,518,929.
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