Somewhere, there are probably people who look forward to the teams walking onto the pitch at the World Cup Finals and miming along to their respective national anthems (or actually singing REALLY badly, which does offer a modicum of entertainment). However, we’d much rather see this practice updated, ideally so that the musical ties for each team at a tournament change every time. Keep everyone on their toes. So, with no further faffing about…
RUSSIA
FRED ASTAIRE – “Putin on the Ritz” [we’d prefer the Young Frankenstein rendition]
SAUDI ARABIA
ROBERT PALMER & UB40 – “Oil be your Baby Tonight”
EGYPT
ALEXANDRE LUIGINI – “Egyptian Ballet” [extra marks about for player enacting the dance]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq7DGvfnr3U
URUGUAY
LANA DEL REY – “Ultraviolence” [still the team most likely to ‘kick off’]
MOROCCO
DAVID BOWIE – “Tagine Genie”
IRAN
FLOCK OF SEAGULLS – “I Ran”
PORTUGAL
LISBONNIE TYLER – “It’s a Heartache” [we suspect it will be]
SPAIN
QUEEN – “Spain is so Close to Pleasure”
FRANCE
MOODY BLUES – “Go Now”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h42kzEA9l8Q
ARGENTINA
JULIE COVINGTON – “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”
AUSTRALIA
1920’s standard “Show Me the Way to go Home”
ICELAND
REYKJAVIK REEVES & THE WONDERSTUFF – “Dizzy”
PERU
MARMALADE – “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”
DENMARK
JULIAN COPE-NHAGEN – “World Shut Your Mouth”
CROATIA
SUZANNE VEGA – “Luka (Modric)”
NIGERIA
(SUPER) EAGLES – “Desperado”
COSTA RICA
DIONNE WARWICK – “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?”
SERBIA
METALLICA – “For Whom the Bell-Grade Tolls”
GERMANY
BEE GEES – “You Win Again”
MEXICO
ABBA – “The Winner Tacos it all
BRAZIL
DURAN DURAN – “Rio”
SWITZERLAND
ASH – “Berne, Baby, Berne”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJjdYsNqlzQ
SWEDEN
GUNS N’ ROSES – “Swede Child of Mine”
SOUTH KOREA
THE FALL “Hit the North”
BELGIUM
RICHARD MARX – “Hazard”
PANAMA
MEN WITHOUT HATS – “The Safety Dance”
TUNISIA
AEROSMITH – “Livin’ on the Carthage”
ENGLAND
BARBRA STREISAND – “Send in the Clowns”
COLOMBIA
FALC(A)O – “Rock me Amadeus”
JAPAN
THE VAPORS – “Turning Japanese”
POLAND
LED ZEPPELIN – “Gallows Pole”
SENEGAL
TRACY CHAPMAN – “Fast Dakar”
