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Halftime spectacle at MetLife
The 2026 FIFA World Cup final on Sunday featured the tournament’s first-ever halftime show at New York New Jersey Stadium, known outside the World Cup as MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with Madonna, BTS, Justin Bieber, Shakira and the Muppets performing.
“Spain won the 2026 FIFA World Cup final on Sunday, beating defending champions Argentina and soccer legend Lionel Messi in a thrilling, extra-time match in front of more than 70,000 boisterous fans in New Jersey”
BTS took the field in red and black to sing “Dynamite,” while Shakira and Burna Boy performed the official World Cup anthem “Dai Dai,” heard before all 104 kickoffs during this tournament.
Madonna opened the show with her 2000 dance-pop hit “Music,” joined by Brazilian soccer players of yesteryear Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, and she rode into the stadium on a dune buggy singing “Music, makes the people come together.”
Conductor Gustavo Dudamel led an orchestra through the White Stripes’ sports anthem “Seven Nation Army,” and the Muppets house band provided background with drummer Animal in lieu of Meg White.
The show also included Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt in character promoting “Ted Lasso,” with Sudeikis telling Bieber, “Go out there, don’t be nervous, nobody’s watching.”
Mixed reactions and debate
Coverage of the halftime show split between praise for the lineup and criticism of its length, with the BBC describing it as a packed event and Fox News saying it drew “mixed reactions” for performances by Shakira, Justin Bieber, BTS and Madonna.
Fox News reported that some viewers compared the show favorably to Super Bowl halftime performances, while others criticized the length, saying it took 27 minutes from the end of the first half to the start of the second.
In The Guardian’s live blog, Phil Udell questioned the ethics of the partnership, writing, “I’m a big fan of Coldplay’s efforts to be an ethically sound modern stadium band but how does that sit with allying themselves with such a questionable organisation as Fifa.”
The Guardian also included a viewer complaint from Matthew Leung, who wrote, “I hope that is the only World Cup half-time show I ever have to see in my life.”
Meanwhile, Variety framed the halftime as a star-studded moment curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, noting that “Jason Sudeikis” popped out as his Ted Lasso character to introduce Justin Bieber.
Unity theme and global fund
Beyond the performances, multiple outlets tied the halftime show to the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, with the NDTV Profit description saying the event was backed by the fund and aimed to raise $100 million for children’s education and football access worldwide.
Billboard reported that Hugh Evans, co-founder and CEO of Global Citizen, said, “I hope audiences around the world were massively entertained and inspired, and I hope they felt the message of unity and love at its core.”
Billboard also stated that as of Sunday, the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund had surpassed $60 million raised for children’s education worldwide, and it placed BTS’s halftime appearance after Madonna and before Justin Bieber and then Shakira (featuring Burna Boy).
The Korea Times described the show’s closing moment with the PS22 Chorus of elementary-school students from Staten Island, backed by Dudamel and joined by Chris Martin along with Shakira and many more Muppets and “Sesame Street” characters.
ABC News added that the halftime show included performances by Burna Boy, conductor Gustavo Dudamel, and the PS22 Chorus of 4th and 5th graders from a public elementary school in Staten Island, New York, as Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time on Sunday.
