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Rory O'Callaghan
England's iconic 'Three Lions' anthem should be "put to bed" after the Lionesses' Euro 2022 triumph, David Baddiel has said.
The song was first released by Baddiel, his fellow comedian Frank Skinner and the Lightning Seeds in 1996 to mark England hosting the men's European Championship that summer.
It has since become the unofficial anthem of the national team and is regularly sung at matches and throughout major tournaments.
The famous lyrics 'football's coming home' were initially sung as a reference to England hosting the 1996 tournament but took on a secondary meaning of hope that the Three Lions could end their barren run without silverware since the 1996 World Cup.
England's women finally ended the country's 56-year wait for a major trophy by beating Germany 2-1 in the final of Euro 2022 at Wembley on Sunday.
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And Baddiel believes it may be time for England fans to retire 'Three Lions' - even though the long wait for men's team still goes on.
"The women have reset the clock," Baddiel told BBC Radio 4.
When asked if now is the right time for fans to ditch the anthem, Baddiel added: "I'm very happy to think the song would, in a way, be put to bed."
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Baddiel says it was emotional to hear the song sung by nearly 90,000 supporters as the Lionesses clinched their first major piece of silverware at the home of English football.
"It was beautiful to hear it sung out of Wembley yesterday, as we finally clinched a final, I really did think that would never happen," he added.
"It's so amazing to actually think, 'Oh, we've won, this doesn't happen, it's actually happened'."
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Baddiel believes the Lionesses have managed to unite the country and expressed his pride that 'Three Lions' has now become as associated with the women's team as the men's.
"We talk about football, we just assume you mean men's football. Football is not default owned by men – that is something I think is only made clear very recently," added Baddiel.
"It's the same game, played by women or played by men. What's totally brilliant in the last few weeks is a sense that the country can get behind it in entirely the same way.
"We've won, not the women have won. We've won."