The Unexpected Winners Of The World Cup

Updated on11th July 2018 at 2.29pm

Well, just look at us now. It's been a long old journey but, much to the surprise of us all, England is in the throes of the Fifa World Cup and we're actually doing pretty well.

Who'd have predicted that, for the first time in 28 year's, we'd be in the semi-finals? Who'd have thought that after all this time our beloved country would have it in itself to prosper on the international sporting stage? Who'd have guessed that we'd get this far?

The answer, of course, is no one but alas, here we are and isn't it lovely. In sweet relief from the chaos that's currently dominating our government, Brexit is forgotten, the sun is shining and England is the most united it's ever been. I'm overwhelmingly aware that even now, just hours from the fateful match that could put us in kicking distance of the World Cup final, this all still feels a bit like fake news. But bloody hell, its real. Football might just be coming home.

You don't have to have even watched any of the matches to know that our success has had a resounding effect on the country. That said, there are a few unlikely winners out of all of this. Yes, the actual England team have had a few wins, as will anyone who braved putting money on our surprise success story, but allow us to walk you through the real winners of this whole thing...

Grazia World Cup Winners

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Gareth Southgate

England manager Gareth Southgate has undoubtedly come out on top of all of this. Beyond the sporting legacy that he's on the cusp of making, there's a wave sartorial admiration that's got it's own hashtag (more on that below) and he's suddenly the most fancied man in football. True story. Prime crush material.

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Atomic Kitten

The girls are back ladies and gentlemen. The band's millennium chart hit has become one of the unlikely chants of Russia 2018. Fans edited the words slightly - 'Southgate you're the one / You still turn me on / Football's coming home again' - and Natasha Hamilton performed the reprisal in a Twitter video ahead of the big match. She and band mate Liz McClaron even hit the studio this week to record the new football version and it's probably their biggest gig in a good few years.

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Waistcoats

See here an England fan dressed as our love, Gareth Southgate. He is to blame for the fact that #WaistcoatWednesday exists. He is to blame for the fact that waistcoat sales are through the roof. He is to blame for the fact that menswear for summer 2018 is suddenly on its way down a very different road.

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Lidl & Aldi

The stakes are pretty high for Lidl and Aldi staff. It was announced yesterday that the supermarket chains will be closing their doors early on Sunday if England make it through to the final. We'll see if other retailers follow suit...

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The music charts

How many times have you heard the words 'it's coming home' so far today? Too many to count? Thought so. Which it will come as no surprise that The Lightning Seeds, David Baddiel's football anthem Three Lions is performing really well in the music charts. They'd hit the number one spot in the mid-week charts and it doesn't look like it's moving. George Ezra was the previous holder of the UK number one with his single Shotgun, but he's since abandoned that as a priority and urged fans to downloadThree Lionsinstead. Because, it's coming home.

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The Internet

Perhaps this isn't all that much of an unlikely win but when it comes to social media sentiment, things can go either way. Thankfully, the internet is fully behind England's World Cup endeavors and the result has been a flurry of exceptional memes. The theme, of course, is 'it's coming home', and it's coming home at any cost necessary.

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American pop stars

Everyone's jumping on the England To Win bandwagon, even the American camp. Over the course of a few music appearances here in the UK, the likes of Justin Timberlake on his Man Of The Woods tour and Post Malone on stage at Wireless Festival have roused the crowds in diverted excitement for their music with a hearty chant of 'it's coming home' mid-performance. Drake was caught by BBC Sport after watching Serena Williams' Wimbledon win and gave the 'come on England' cheer a go. Needless to say, they've all momentarily been awarded status as honorary Englishmen and earned a few extra brownie points from fans.

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Prince William

Prince William got in early with his England support as one can gather from this exceptional image of him having a little chat with Harry Kane at a training session back in June. His commitment to the cause peaked, however, when he commandeered the Kensington Palace Twitter account for the first time to congratulate the England team. The tweet read like a DM which only made his efforts as a 'cool dad' even more endearing, but the royal seal of support filled our hearts with the type of patriotism we weren't sure existed.

MORE: Here's Proof That Prince William Is The Royal Family's Most Dedicated Football Fan