If something has created controversy around the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals, it’s the decision to introduce a half-time entertainment show. FIFA tried to replicate the SuperBowl’s concept to make it more accessible to the American audience and may have succeeded. The 2026 World Cup is by far the biggest FIFA event by revenue and attendees. However, the half-time show has left a few soccer purists unimpressed. Wayne Rooney was one of them.
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“I’ll be honest, when it finished. I like a lot of those artists, but I thought it was crap,” Ben Jacobs quoted Rooney as the latter said to BBC Sports.
In the BBC studio, Rooney was promptly supported by Micah Richards, who said the half-time show was “miserable.”
While the American audience was accustomed to such halftime shows in the Super Bowl, it’s something new for the global soccer fans. The just-concluded event featured an extravaganza curated by Chris Martin of Coldplay and headlined by Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira (with Burna Boy), and K-Pop sensation BTS. The packed musical spectacle stretched the break to over 27 minutes. It featured surprise appearances, including the Muppets amid massive set changes and fireworks.
“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 questioned the decision to introduce the half-time show.
That said, for those who perhaps could have enjoyed the spectacles, everything seemed to be all over the place.
The show opened with a pre-taped bit of Madonna riding a jeep through tunnels under the stadium with Ronaldinho and Ronaldo, a segment that ran long enough to make you wonder if she’d actually show up on the field at all. She did, but only after her “Music” performance had already played out, leaving her just enough time to strike a pose before things moved on to Dudamel and the Muppets.
BTS got a minute and 40 seconds out of “Dynamite,” complete with some football-tweaked lyrics, before Jason Sudeikis popped up unannounced, slipping back into Ted Lasso for a bit built around coaching Justin Bieber. Bieber then walked out solo with just an acoustic guitar for a stripped-down take on “Everything Hallelujah” off “Swag II,” no band, no backing track. Jennifer Hudson closed it out with the national anthem, which had been drawing its own share of criticism anyway.
FIFA chief Gianni Infantino, though, stayed unabated. He pushed back against traditionalists, labeling the extended show a “groundbreaking spectacle” that would leave a “legacy that transcends the final whistle”.
