There's a fortnight to go until Christmas - but one gift could 'come home' early for England fans. The Three Lions have roared into the World Cup quarter-finals with some impressive performances along the way and supporters are daring to dream once again.
It comes less than 18 months after football fever swept the nation during Euro 2020, only for heartbreak as England were defeated in the final on penalties by Italy. On the morning of that match, a Tameside barber wrote a song capturing the mood of the nation.
George White, from Ashton, left his creation behind in the wake of England's penalty heartache. But ahead of the World Cup, the 32-year-old decided to pick up his guitar once again.
Now, with England potentially two games away from another final, George is eyeing up a rather unusual double - World Cup glory for England and a Christmas number one for his tune 'Up The England' in the same week. "I wrote it because everyone was buzzing about football," he said.
"I sat on it for a bit after we got beat, but I went out and recorded it around the same time the women's team won the Euros, so people were buzzing about football again." Unsigned musician George, who works at Droylsden Village Barbers, released the track last month - getting plays on local radio stations in Greater Manchester.
But since releasing a video filmed around Greater Manchester on December 4, George's song has been getting more attention and he's now eyeing up an unlikely Christmas number one success. His odds on Friday (December 9) were as short as 10/1 with bookmaker Bet365, which has LadBaby as the 10/11 favourite to score a fifth successive Christmas number one.
The track has even caught the attention of Stockport's England hero Phil Foden, who George met up with before he flew out with England to Qatar. "Two or three days before Qatar a friend of a friend passed it onto Phil, and he said he would pass it about.
"The lad I had been working with on the videos at Edgeley Park then bumped into Phil, so I got in my car, drove down and had a chat with him. He's done well for England so maybe my song has spurred him on - he's found the right key."
George will discover his fate in the race for Christmas number one on Friday, December 23. As for the England team, if they can beat France in tonight's quarter-final and the semi-final on Wednesday, football could finally come home next Sunday, December 18.
But if he had to choose one over the other? "I would say football coming home," admitted George.
Watch the video for 'Up The England' on YouTube here.
READ NEXT:
