3 min readJun 30, 2026 04:24 PM IST At the 2026 World Cup, music is no longer something you just hear in the background. It has become part of the tournament itself, built into the way matches are staged and experienced inside stadiums. For a long time, World Cups were remembered through one shared soundtrack. Songs like “Waka Waka” or “La Copa de la Vida” played everywhere, from stadiums to television broadcasts. They gave each tournament a single identity – one sound that belonged to everyone, no matter which team you supported. That is no longer the case. The World Cup has moved away from one global anthem. Instead, there are now multiple songs and playlists tied to different teams and different moments in a match. Music is being used more deliberately, almost like another layer of the game, to shape how fans feel inside stadiums. Each team has been allowed to choose or submit its own music for specific moments. England players and fans, for instance, sang Oasis’ “Wonderwall” after their first match, turning …