[3] William Ruhlmann from AllMusic declared the song as a "big-time closer" and a "South African-style anthem", complete with Hugh Masekela's flugelhorn.

[5] Kevin Courtney from Irish Times wrote, "Simply Red's footie tune is a gospel style chant, Mick Hucknall playing the FA preacher man while the choir sings unto heaven and the drums beat out the soul stirring rhythms.

[8] Alan Jones from Music Week wrote, "A rather stark and ponderous thing it is, too, although the percussively enhanced Universal Feeling mix is livelier.

Its saving grâce is probably that a sublime sax solo is followed by a swelling chorus which finally summons up the stirring qualities it would have been nice to have had from the start.

[10] In a 2014 retrospective review, Pop Rescue noted that the song "builds up and up with brass, choir, and motivational lyrics", stating that it "aims for epic, and earns its goal.