The star-studded halftime show of the much-anticipated World Cup final, which featured everyone from Justin Bieber to Madonna and BTS, ended up being an underwhelming and confusing mass of “rubbish,” critics said on Sunday.
The superstars co-headlined the halftime show Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which was curated by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. While the star power was considerable, the overall combination turned out to be a bad mix of energy, odd shifts, and overall dissonance.
When legendary British soccer star Wayne Rooney was asked on-air by BBC Sport what he thought about the show, he frankly replied, “There are a lot of artists I like, but I thought it was rubbish.”
Madonna, who took the stage first, didn’t even sing live, instead lip-syncing her 2000 hit “Music” as dancers roller-skated around her, before emerging from the tunnel and stepping onto the field.
Her performance transitioned into a strange focus on the Muppets Animal playing drums to the White Stripes’ hit “Seven Nation Army,” which is nothing to be concerned about.
BTS then gave a formal but energetic performance of “Dynamite,” before Jason Sudeikis appeared out of nowhere and mysteriously appeared as his beloved character Ted Lasso to introduce Justin Bieber.
Bieber slowed his pace considerably, playing his guitar and singing his hit song “Everything Hallelujah” acoustically.
Shakira then took to the stage with Burna Boy and swayed her hips as she sang “Die Die” and the energy skyrocketed.
Finally, Coldplay also took the stage with Gustavo Dudamel and the PS22 Chorus, an enthusiastic choir made up of fourth and fifth graders from New York City, to close out the show. When the word “Love” was spelled out on the field using globes, all the children wore colorful jerseys and danced energetically. It was a very feel-good moment, but it wasn’t enough to save the entire patchwork creation.
Some viewers used X to make cruel criticisms of the show, with one comment rating the performance a 5 out of 10.
“Madonna and Bieber and their last child could have been cut,” they wrote. “90% of Madonna’s songs seem to be pre-recorded. Bieber’s song selection was terrible. They make a fuss to sleep on the hype. I get the message of the halftime show, but oh well. It should have just been BTS and Shakira.”
Another complainer wrote: “I was speechless after watching the World Cup halftime show. Football was entertainment. The halftime show was cultural degradation. It was painfully empty. It was a circus.”
Yet another viewer described the show as “disjointed” and “thematically disjointed and really lacking in vision.”
This performance was the first halftime show in FIFA World Cup history. A-list celebrities watched from the stands, including Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Adrien Brody, Timothée Chalamet and his girlfriend Kylie Jenner.
The star-studded show supported the FIFA Global Citizenship Education Fund, an initiative to raise $100 million to expand access to quality education and soccer to children around the world. The Education Fund has already raised more than $50 million, with $1 from every ticket sold to a 2026 FIFA World Cup match donated throughout the tournament.
Martin announced May’s halftime show performance with an adorable video featuring “Sesame Street” icons Elmo and Cookie Monster, as well as Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and Animal from the Muppets. The video showed Martin and Elmo asking BTS members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook via FaceTime if they would like to participate in the halftime show performance.
“This is a chance to show how amazing different types of people are,” Martin says in the heartwarming video.
“This show is more about ‘us’ than ‘me,'” he later said. “So it’s a feeling of togetherness, really.”
In the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final, Argentina and Spain faced off for the championship. Argentina beat England 2-1 last Wednesday to reach the final, but celebrity fans like David Beckham were left devastated in the stands. England defeated France 6-4 on Saturday to take third place in the World Cup.
Beckham’s 21-year-old son, Cruz, was photographed last week comforting his father and giving him a big hug in the stands at Atlanta Stadium in Georgia.
Seats for the World Cup final are a hot commodity among A-level players, with sources telling Page Six that it was nearly “impossible” to get tickets before the game.
“Tickets are some of the hardest to come by in the city, and hotels, restaurants and private clubs are overwhelmed with athletes, entertainers, executives and sponsors arriving for the week,” a sports and entertainment official said.
Veteran sporting event marketer David Spencer pointed out that sporting events like the World Cup are now comparable in scale to other major entertainment events.
“Artists want to perform, brands want to entertain A-list clients, and executives and celebrities want to be in the same room,” he said.
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