Euro 2020: ‘It’s coming home’ – What is the meaning of England football’s most popular rhetoric and how it originated?

In the history of football, perhaps there has never been a more catchy slogan than the one for England football – “It’s coming home”. The rhetoric has survived for decades and every time there is an international tournament around the corner, England football fans are seen gathered in numbers chanting the rhetoric.

And now, as England have made it to the final of Euro 2020 under the guidance of manager Gareth Southgate, there seems to be a genuine belief among the football circles that it, truly, might be “coming home” this time.

Also read: Euro 2020 final: England’s road to the final

But what does the saying actually means and what was the origin behind it? It may come as a surprise that the phrase “It’s coming home” actually had quite a humble beginning. (Euro 2020 Full Coverage)

“It’s coming home” emerged from the 1996 hit single “Three Lions (Football’s Coming Home)” which was written by comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner and performed by The Lightning Seeds. It was dubbed as the official anthem of Euro 1996 when England hosted the tournament.

The song was named so as it was the first time England were hosting a major international football tournament since the 1966 FIFA World Cup. In the 1966 FIFA World Cup, England had defeated West Germany in the final to win the trophy. And hence, fans genuinely started believing that England can once again repeat the history and win a major international trophy at home.

But unfortunately, England lost to Germany on penalties in the semifinals and crashed out. But what remained from the tournament was the memory of the 1996 song by Baddiel and Skinner, which became the rhetoric of England football.

Another version of the song was produced in 1998 during FIFA World Cup in France. During the 2010 FIFA World Cup, another version of the song came out featuring Robbie Williams. Since then, various version of the songs has been produced, it has been meme-fied to infinity in the age of social media.