The half-time break in Sunday's World Cup final is expected to last between 20 and 25 minutes, as Fifa stages an 11-minute Super Bowl-style show co-headlined by Madonna, Shakira and K-pop boy band BTS. The interval at New York New Jersey Stadium will also feature Justin Bieber, Burna Boy, Gustavo Dudamel and the PS22 Chorus featuring Coldplay, with singer Chris Martin having curated the show. Last year's Club World Cup final, also organised by Fifa and held in New Jersey, saw a 24-minute half-time due to a performance by Coldplay, J Balvin, Doja Cat, Tems and Emmanuel Kelly. The laws of the game, governed by Ifab, state that players are entitled to a half-time break "not exceeding 15 minutes". Sources within Fifa suggest the break will be around 20 minutes, though one option is for the normal 15-minute half-time followed by the 11-minute show.
The final will kick off at 15:00 local time (20:00 BST) after a closing ceremony starting at 13:30 local time (18:30 BST). Tom Cruise, Laura Pausini, Nicole Scherzinger, Robbie Williams and IShowSpeed are set to perform as part of the ceremony, with Jennifer Hudson to sing the United States' national anthem.
“World Cup final half-time to last up to 25 minutes with Madonna, Shakira and BTS show; Spain await England or Argentina.”
Spain booked their place in the final by beating France 2-0 in the first semi-final in Dallas on Tuesday. They will face either England or Argentina, who meet in Atlanta on Wednesday (20:00 BST). The match carries added historical weight given the political tension between England and Argentina over the Falkland Islands. Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni, asked about the hostility in his pre-match press conference at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, said: "The reality is that this is a football match. I can't mix things up, especially out of respect for what happened so many years ago. It was a very sad period in our history, and there isn't much we can do about it, that's the reality. It is a football match. There's no getting around that." Scaloni also hit back at critics of Argentina's performances, saying: "The team isn't playing as bad as people say. We must have done something right to reach this stage." Argentina have won all six of their matches at this World Cup. England have not met Argentina competitively since the 2002 World Cup; they won their last meeting, a friendly in 2005, 3-2 in Geneva.
Whoever emerges from Wednesday's semi-final will face Spain in the final, with Argentina bidding to retain their crown and England seeking their first World Cup since 1966.