20 July 2026
From Shakira to Muppets: The Half-Time Show Nobody Asked For
The Guardian reviews the star-studded World Cup final half-time show, which crammed Madonna, Coldplay and Justin Bieber into one controversial mid-match spectacle.
The 2026 World Cup final will be remembered not only for Torres's winner but for the most elaborate half-time show in football history, and The Guardian is not entirely convinced the sport needed it.
As The Guardian describes it, the show zipped along at pace, fitting in Shakira, Madonna and Coldplay, alongside Burna Boy and a Justin Bieber acoustic moment that the paper identifies as the one misstep of the evening. Bieber's downcast ballad, the piece argues, was perhaps not the right tone for a global football final crowd. Shakira and Burna Boy performed the official tournament song, Dai Dai, to a more rapturous reception.
The Guardian notes the show's very existence broke FIFA's own 15-minute half-time rule, and raises the broader question of whether football finals are becoming too close to American-style entertainment events. Whether fans were convinced of the need for this mid-match spectacle, the piece suggests, remains very much open to debate.
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