Baddiel and Skinner unveil Three Lions 2022 version

'A football Christmas song... Not at all demeaning'

David Baddiel and Frank Skinner have unveiled their new Christmas version of Three Lions ahead of the World Cup.

The reworked version of their 1996 England anthem now includes references to the success of the national women's side – with Lionesses Jess Carter and Beth England featuring in the video alongside Sir Geoff Hurst.

Now the chorus of the hit – made with Ian Broudie's Lightning Seeds – goes: 'Three Lions on a sleigh/With She-Lion’s inspiration/Santa says let’s play/The Christmas tree formation.'

And the second time around, they sing: 'Three Lions on a Sleigh/Yule Rimet still gleaming/A football Christmas song/Not at all demeaning…'

The Sun newspaper today decided that the release of the new single was more important than Jeremy Hunt's £55 billion package of tax rises and spending cuts and dedicated their front page to the news.

Skinner told the newspaper: 'We just had to do it. Christmas World Cup songs are not like buses. If we’d let this opportunity pull away, it would have been a very long wait for the next one."

And Baddiel added: 'It’s between me and Mariah Carey for who really is the voice of Christmas."

England kick off against Iran in Qatar on Monday, while Wales play the USA later the same night. Their World Cup song is reworking of Dafydd Iwan’s patriotic 1983 song Yma o Hyd, meaning 'still here'.