'Ale, ale, ale!' to meh: World Cup loses its spark to boring music

The World Cup has always been more than the matches on the pitch. For a brief, electrifying moment every four years, it extends into the streets, bars, and living rooms of millions of fans worldwide. And for a long stretch, from 1998 through 2010, that heartbeat came in the form of music. The songs weren’t just background noise as they carried motivational fire, capable of uniting entire nations and turning casual spectators into believers.