Oy... Zzzzzzzz...

Got my latest NME weekly email, and I see that snoozeworthy British band Embrace have been tapped by the English Football Association (FA) to provide this year's special World Cup song.

A spokesperson for the FA added: "The official England World Cup song has become something of an institution and it is really important that we have an original and exciting track. We're confident that Embrace's song will capture the imagination of the fans and players alike.

If they don't fall asleep first. Embrace has little to zero traction here in the States (mix Coldplay's soaring guitars with deep-and-meaningful Train and a dash of heart-on-the-sleeve hope), but their mid-tempo guitar tunes seem to play well in the UK. Their most recent album just went number one (you can listen to samples of This New Day at the Embrace site). Not too hopeful that this will be a very inspiring tune, but then it seems that England are being very conservative in their approach to this year's World Cup with so much pre-tournament publicity about it maybe, just maybe being their year.

On second thought, maybe this is the FA's cunning plan to quiet the throngs of drunk English fans with a sonorous anthem that can drain the life out of any wanna-be hooligan.

Now, this comes even before one chord of the song has been heard, but I'm certain it'll never top New Order's World in Motion (check out a sound sample at the iTunes Music Store; software required) from the 1990 World Cup--complete with rap from England team striker John Barnes and early 90s house music piano. For more on the history of recent England World Cup songs, check out this Slate story.