Maddox Jones has praised the unifying powers of music and football.
The singer released his third sporting anthem, This Time We'll Be Winning, ahead of the World Cup in America, Canada, and Mexico, and following England's victory over Norway at the weekend to take them into the semi-finals of the tournament, he hopes the song will be a part of fan celebrations following the game against Argentina on Wednesday (15.07.26).
He told BANG Showbiz: “It’s incredible to think England are now just one game away from a World Cup final.
"When I wrote This Time We’ll Be Winning it was all about hope and believing that this could finally be our time. Whatever happens against Argentina, the country has come together again, and that’s what football does at its best.
"Hopefully the song can be part of that journey for the fans, and fingers crossed we’re all celebrating on Wednesday night.”
Maddox - who previously released We're All Here Together (Go England!)' for the 2022 World Cup and England Together for Euro 2024 - believes the sense of hope he sings about in This Time We'll Be Winning is something everyone can relate to, whether they're invested in the tournament or not.
He previously told the Northampton Chronicle: “At its heart it’s a song about hope and belief.
“Football is one of those things that makes people dream.
“Every tournament, no matter what’s happened before, fans start believing again. I wanted to capture that feeling.
“It’s obviously inspired by England and the World Cup, but it’s also about optimism in life generally and believing that good things can happen....
“I love the emotion around football. People care deeply. The highs are incredible and the lows can be heartbreaking.
“As a songwriter, that’s really interesting because those emotions are exactly the things songs are built on.”
And despite his optimism, one moment that inspired the song was England's Euro 2020 defeat to Italy on penalties.
He explained: “Obviously the result didn’t go the way we wanted, but I’ve never experienced anything quite like the atmosphere around the country during that tournament.
“Everywhere you went people were talking about it, families and friends were coming together and there was this genuine sense of hope and belief.
“In a strange way, that feeling is part of what inspired This Time We’ll Be Winning.”
