‘Well, this is awkward’: Three Lions scores UK number one after England lose out on World Cup final

Fans took the anthem to the top, but it was all too late
Reunited: Ian Broudie from the Lightening Seeds with comedians Frank Skinner and David Baddiel
PA Archive
Emma Powell13 July 2018
The Weekender

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Football may not be coming home anymore – but Three Lions has topped the charts.

David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and the Lightning Seeds’ anthem soared up the Official UK Singles Chart as England fans got their hopes up for a place in the World Cup final.

But despite the squads’ heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Croatia, the track hit the top spot with 80,000 combined sales this week.

Reacting to the news, Baddiel said: “Well, this is awkward.”

Skinner added: “I must say, as consolation prizes go...”

The news comes days after George Ezra urged fans to get behind the song, which features the famous “football’s coming home lyric,” and take it to number one over his single Shotgun.

Speaking in a Facebook video he said: “Thanks to you lovely people Shotgun has been number one for two weeks running.

Heartbroken England fans after World Cup semi-final defeat

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“Now of course that is amazing.

“But I think it’s time we knock it off the number one spot with Three Lions. We go out and we download and we stream Three Lions, and you know why, because it's coming home. Come on England!”

Three Lions took the number one spot for two weeks on its release in 1996. It was rerecorded with different lyrics under the title 3 Lions '98 in 1998 for the World Cup in France and spent three weeks at the top spot.

The song is one of the UK’s best-selling singles of all time, with both versions combined having sold 1.6 million.

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