"World in Motion" is, as of 2005, New Order's only single that reached number 1 in the UK Top 40. The song was released under the name ENGLANDneworder, and was produced for the England football team's 1990 World Cup campaign. As a result it features several members of the 1990 English team, as well as comedian Keith Allen, who co-wrote the lyrics. The song was produced by Stephen Hague , also the producer of the group's earlier hit, "True Faith".

The single's B-side, in reality an early version of the A-side, was cleverly titled "The B-Side", extending the football theme of the release, and was produced by former The Swans member Roli Mosimann . The single was released in May 1990 with the catalogue number FAC 293. It was New Order's last release on Factory Records.

The track is often mistitled "The John Barnes Rap", after the rap performed by Jamaican-born England player John Barnes towards the end of the track. In addition to Barnes, Paul Gascoigne also provides vocals. The entire squad sing as a choir at the end of the track. It is claimed by many that the apparent quotes from other England players on "The B-Side" were faked by Keith Allen as he didn't believe that the players could sing well enough.

The single was re-released for the 2002 World Cup, this time with the track "Such a Good Thing" replacing "The B-Side". It failed to enter the UK Top 40.

The track has regularly topped polls to decide the best football songs ever. This is possibly down to its relative timelessness, and the fact that the lyrics are not entirely about football - the theme of the song is that "Love's got the world in motion", and the rest of the lyrics, whilst clearly about football, are open to intrepretation, leaving the song able to stand on its own, removed from the tournament.