This Year's World Cup Songs, Ranked

It's almost World Cup time — and there's a long, sometimes proud and often embarrassing history of international pop stars creating confections for the games.

For every bit of surprising transcendence, like Youssou N'Dour and Axelle Red's for the 1998 tournament in France, there's New Order's unbelievably corny written for the 1990 Cup in Italy. (New Order! Doing a soccer anthem! Featuring a thoroughly awkward rap break from footballer John Barnes!) And sometimes, a World Cup which became an inescapable global hit.