England informed to scrap God Save The King as iconic new music already chosen
England’s national football team have always sung ‘God Save The King’ before matches but the national anthem has long been a source of debate, as 55% are backing a change to Jerusalem or Land of Hope and Glory
England have used God Save The King for nearly 300 years(Image: Getty)
The national anthem has sparked lengthy discussions since the World Cup kicked off. Is it rousing enough? Should it be ditched? Should you really alter such a long-standing tradition? “God Save The King” has been belted out by the English national football team for years, yet England doesn’t actually possess an officially recognised national anthem.
Consequently, in rugby, England previously performed ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ while the English cricket team are renowned for adopting ‘Jerusalem’ at domestic Test matches, reports the Express.
The football squad, however, has consistently opted for ‘God Save The King’ – or formerly, ‘God Save The Queen’. Similar to England, Scotland – also competing at this World Cup – lack an official anthem and utilise Flower Of Scotland having previously performed Scotland The Brave until the 1990s.
JOIN US ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
The Tartan Army’s passionate rendition of Flower Of Scotland earned widespread acclaim when the Scots triumphed over Haiti 1-0 in their first World Cup fixture since 1998 last week. This helped ignite renewed discussion in England regarding whether a more stirring tune is needed for England.
A survey from our good friends at the Daily Express generated over 4,000 responses, with 1,902 people declaring that England should NOT abandon the use of ‘God Save The King’. This represented 45% of participants who would rather maintain the customary pre-match melody.
However, 55% of voters hold the opposite view – and DO desire the anthem to be dropped. Of those keen to replace GSTK, 1% voted for ‘I Vow To Thee My Country’ as its successor. A further 40% of those advocating a change opted for William Blake’s and Hubert Parry’s ‘Jerusalem’.
Meanwhile, the remaining 44% of voters desiring a change wish to see GSTK supplanted by Edward Elgar’s ‘Land Of Hope And Glory’, penned in 1901 and used at the Commonwealth Games until 2010, when it was substituted by ‘Jerusalem’.
Despite Jerusalem’s popularity, many English folk believe that ‘Land Of Hope And Glory’ best encapsulates the nation and would offer a more rousing and patriotic anthem than one about the Royal Family.
England head coach Thomas Tuchel, meanwhile, is hopeful that Oasis hit Wonderwall can become a post-match anthem for the Three Lions in North America this summer.
The iconic 1998 Britpop tune was belted out by both England fans and players inside the AT&T Stadium following their 4-2 victory over Croatia to kick off the World Cup. And German strategist Tuchel said: “Hopefully, it becomes an anthem because that’s exactly what a tournament like this is for.
“It’s for the connection between fans and the team – they felt the energy, the team spirit. It was a beautiful moment and it meant a lot to all of us. Hopefully, we can recreate this in the next game.”
