The United States national anthem will be performed at MetLife Stadium before the World Cup final. The credit goes to FIFA for arranging a pre-game show featuring Emmy-winning Jennifer Hudson, who is confirmed to be singing the US national anthem during the kickoff show. However, the FIFA World Cup final playing the national anthem of a country not playing in the final has left the fans unimpressed.

“OFFICIAL: FIFA has 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐌𝐄𝐃 that Jennifer Hudson will perform the United States national anthem ahead of the World Cup Final,” CentreGoals shared via X.

FIFA’s plan for a Super Bowl-like halftime entertainment show is already gathering enough outrage. Fans are accusing the global soccer body of Americanization of the game. Now, the US national anthem is getting played despite Spain and Argentina playing the decider. Ordinarily, only the national anthems of the competing finalist nations are performed. And not to forget that the United States is sharing the tournament’s hosting duties with Canada and Mexico; so the decision to exclusively feature the U.S. anthem is not being taken well by many.

The performance is scheduled as part of the grand closing ceremony, which begins at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time, roughly 90 minutes before the championship match kicks off. It will all start with “The Star-Spangled Banner” by Hudson.

The half-time show will feature appearances by names like Madonna, Shakira, Justin Bieber, and BTS. To accommodate the 11-minute halftime show, the typical break might be extended to about 20-30 minutes. The show will be broadcast live to millions of fans globally and will support the Global Citizen Education Fund.

While the halftime show will surely up the glamour quotient of the FIFA World Cup finals, purists are holding FIFA responsible for altering the core of the game.

“The hydration breaks were just the start. On Sunday, the World Cup final will see the highlight of the tournament – the longest half-time-break in football history. The World Cup final is a copy of the Super Bowl. Quo vadis, FIFA?” Former FIFA chief Sepp Blatter said. Even the fans are mostly on Blatter’s side.

“Who’s going to sing Mexico and Canada national anthems? They are host nations too,” one fan asked.

“Are they performing the Canadian and Mexico Anthems too?’ Another added.

“Has the national anthem of a FIFA World Cup host country ever been sung during a final match, even though that host country did not reach the final?” Another user remarked.

“Why don’t they sing the anthems of Mexico and Canada then? America isn’t the only one hosting,” One more reacted.

“They wannabe the center of everything so bad, ur team has been eliminated time ago, this is not the Super Bowl,” another added.