I really did think it would never happen!’ David Baddiel says it was ‘beautiful’ to hear his Three Lions anthem sung at Wembley after England won a final
- Three Lions anthem has been beloved by football fans since 1996 popularity
- One of its writers David Baddiel said it was ‘beautiful’ to hear it at Wembley final
- Admitted that until yesterday he wondered if it would ever soundtrack a big win
Three Lions co-writer David Baddiel has spoken of his pride at England’s Lionesses and the ‘beautiful’ way it was sung out of Wembley yesterday a final was won.
Baddiel, 58, said he had wondered if he would have ever heard the song – penned with Frank Skinner and Ian Broudie – song after a tournament-winning victory.
And he said the team’s press conference invasion to belt out the song in front of the waiting media had perfectly encapsulated their spirit.
England stunned Germany yesterday in front of millions as they won 2-1 in front of rapturous 87,000 fans in the stadium.
Baddiel thanked the Lionesses after the match and tweeted: ‘Home. In fact it’s come home. A sentence I thought I’d never write. I’ve gone. Thank you Lionesses.’
He told Radio 4 this morning: ‘It’s beautiful, it’s fantastic, it was beautiful to hear it sung out of Wembley yesterday as we finally clinched a final.
‘I really did think that would never happen. It was so amazing to think “oh we’ve won, this doesn’t happen”. It’s actually happened.
In an image that will live long in the memory, Chloe Kelly swings her shirt over her head after scoring the winning goal and securing the title
One of Three Lions’ writers David Baddiel said it was ‘beautiful’ to hear it at Wembley final
‘Then the team all coming into the press conference and anarchically breaking up the press conference by singing the song. It was so brilliant and so in the spirit of the Lionesses which is kind of joyful and unbridled and brilliant the way they play, so yes I was very happy about it.’
On Saturday night Baddiel and the Lightning Seeds performed a Lionesses-themed version of the song at a Camden gig.
It featured lyrics ‘And now I see Ellen White standing tall, Russo ready to score, Stanway belting the ball, and Beth Mead screaming’.
But he said the fact England had now won a major competition for the first time in 56 years did not mean the song was no longer needed.
He said: ‘We talk about football and we assume it’s you mean men’s football, but we should say men’s football or women’s football, because football is not default owned by men, but that is something that has only been made clear very, very recently.
‘I would hope my daughter – who likes football but herself doesn’t play football maybe -her children if she has children would not think of it as a separate game. It’s the same game played by women or by men.
Leah Williamson and Millie Bright of England lift the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 Trophy after their sides victory during the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 final
Kelly pokes home in extra time sending millions across the country wild
The England Women’s team arrive back at their team hotel as they celebrate their huge win against Germany in the Euro 2022 final and dance in the car park after leaving Wembley
Queen leads praise of the Lionesses’ victory
‘My warmest congratulations, and those of my family, go to you all on winning the European Women’s Football Championships.
It is a significant achievement for the entire team, including your support staff.
The Championships and your performance in them have rightly won praise.
However, your success goes far beyond the trophy you have so deservedly earned.
You have all set an example that will be an inspiration for girls and women today, and for future generations.
It is my hope that you will be as proud of the impact you have had on your sport as you are of the result today.’
And what’s so brilliant in the last few weeks is the sense that the country that the country can get behind it in entirely the same way, there’s no accommodation made, it’s absolutely for football fans and for England football fans to think we’ve won, not the women have won, but we’ve won.
‘What I would say that the women have reset the clock there is the men, the men still exist the men have not reset the clock, there’s still 56 years of hurt for the men’s game and do you know what the other thing about football is I’ve noticed that if Chelsea – who I support – win the title, the next season it’s over now, if we lose a game we’re still sngry, we’re still sad. So football carries on with its ups and downs so I am very happy to think the song would in a way be put to bed but I think that fans as soon as we lose again will think no, no what’s happened to England, we need to sing it again and think we need to get back to a position of winning.’
The 87,192-strong attendance in the stadium smashed the record for either a men’s or women’s Euros final and saw the team end more than 50 years of hurt by delivering the nation’s first major football trophy since 1966.
In extra time super substitute Chloe Kelly fired them into the history books after beating Germany in a tight final that captivated 15million at home and tens of thousands watching in pubs and fan parks across the country.
Today thousands of fans will be able to celebrate England’s Euros win with the players in London later. Up to 7,000 supporters will have the opportunity to join the team for a daytime event hosted by veteran Lioness Alex Scott in Trafalgar Square, where fans were dancing in the fountains last night.
Supporters will be able to gain free entry on a first-come first-served basis from 11am on Monday, and can enjoy live music from DJ Monki while tournament highlights are shown on screens.
The players and their manager, Sarina Wiegman, will take part in a Q&A session before lifting the trophy.
The event has been organised by the Greater London Authority, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Westminster Council, and will be broadcast live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 12.40pm.It is expected to end at 2pm.
Alex Scott said today that the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 victory would be a game changer in terms of raising the profile of women’s football.
She told BBC Breakfast: ‘These Lionesses have raised the bar. They have changed the way women’s football is viewed in this country. The train has left the station and it is gathering pace. It will be tragic to take any steps back after what we have witnessed yesterday and through the whole tournament. There must be an opportunity for every single girl to play football if they want to.’
Spectators at Wembley included the Duke of Cambridge, whose seven-year-old daughter Princess Charlotte had earlier filmed a ‘good luck’ message for the team.
Meanwhile, as many as 15million more were watching around the UK on television – another record for women’s football – including Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his children Wilf, two, and seven-month-old Romy.
The Queen led the praise, telling them in a statement ‘You have all set an example that will be an inspiration for girls and women today, and for future generations’.
The result sent the Lionesses into raptures, with the victorious women storming into Sarina Wiegman’s post-match press conference singing the Baddiel, Skinner and The Lightning Seeds anthem Three Lions.
The celebrations continued in the Wembley changing room as the players were seen dancing and laughing – enjoying their historic achievement.
Yesterday’s final was a tense 90 minutes with flying tackles and yellow cards peppering a highly-energetic match, watched by Prince William in the crowd.
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