2026 World Cup final halftime show criticized as slick but unnecessary

Madonna, Ronaldinho (left) and Ronaldo livened up the half-time show — Hannah McKay/Reuters

By Tim Spiers July 19, 2026 | Updated July 20, 2026

It's football, but not as we know it. It is American sport, exactly as we know it.

Football broke new ground with the World Cup final's first ever half-time show, interrupting the biggest match the sport has to offer for 27 minutes so that Justin Bieber could serenade half the planet with a guitar while looking ever so slightly bored.

Was it any good? Will we be talking about it for years to come? And, more importantly, was it worth it?

Highlights and Lowlights

The pre-recorded sight of a goofy, grinning original Ronaldo, pushing the seams of his tracksuit to its very limits, driving Madonna into the stadium as she sang her old hit Music, with Ronaldinho sat alongside very much in his uncle Nile Rodgers era, was equal parts surreal and hilarious.

If we'd had a bit more of that — maybe Luis Figo and Bryan Adams on a motorbike with a sidecar, or Francesco Totti on a unicycle — then we'd have had a show to remember.

However, while everything was very well choreographed, fun, big and colourful, it was all pretty random and felt very contrived.

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Sure, it was never exactly going to feel organic and wholesome, but this was clearly a rip-off of the very well established Super Bowl show and it lacked the cohesiveness that brings when it showcases one particular artist (albeit often with special guests).

Bieber's deeply earnest acoustic version of Everything Hallelujah was great, as a contained one-off performance, but coming in between K-Pop band BTS and Shakira/Burna Boy it was a bum note in a show otherwise packed with energy.

Did Justin Bieber bring down the vibes? — Buda Mendes/Getty Images

"Baby, we find love in these moments," Bieber sang. "We don't even have to try, I could sing a song but the words just wouldn't do, so I said hallelujah, hallelujah, baby."

Fine, but can we get back to watching Spain's endless rotational passing game now please?

What Worked

The show itself was passable enough, especially the football-related stuff:

• Shakira and Burna Boy performing Dai Dai, the song heard at each of the tournament's 104 matches
• The Norwegian row bit — good
• The Ted Lasso skit — fine
• Gustavo Dudamel and an orchestra (and the Muppets) performing Seven Nation Army, a football anthem for many years — great

What Didn't

But the rest? BTS doing a pop number, Bieber bringing the mood to a halt, and then Coldplay, with the help of a load of kids from the PS22 Chorus, ramping up the schmaltz singing about love… you just kept asking yourself why? Why is the greatest footballer to have ever kicked a ball being made to endure the longest half-time of his entire career so that Chris Martin could tell us all to believe in love?

The Muppets – and Coldplay's Chris Martin – close the show — Carl Recine/Getty Images

It belonged at the Eurovision Song Contest, the enduringly cheesy annual competition where European...

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