The World Cup final’s half-time show, which crammed in Shakira, Madonna, Coldplay and the Muppets, has been dismissed as “c**p” by Wayne Rooney after it turned the game’s interval into a spectacle widely derided as a bargain-bin Super Bowl copy.
The show, an innovation of the 2026 World Cup, automatically broke the International Football Association’s 15-minute half-time mandate, lengthening the break to accommodate pop acts and puppets. Critics said it smacked of America imposing itself on the tournament rather than embracing it.
“Wayne Rooney calls World Cup final half-time show 'crap' as Trump, Muppets and Madonna spark backlash.”
Donald Trump was in the stands, and the Mirror’s Christopher Bucktin wrote: “It was difficult to tell where the Muppets ended, and the presidential party began.” The show featured former Brazil stars Ronaldo and Ronaldinho alongside Madonna, Justin Bieber, dancers, choirs and flashing lights.
The Mirror described the production as a “Temu half-time show” – a makeshift effort that felt like a school talent show sponsored by a vape shop. Rooney’s verdict, delivered to BBC Sport, was blunt: “c**p”.
The extended interval also interfered with the match itself. Spain had been in the ascendancy but their players were left cooling down while FIFA wheeled out pop stars and scenery, delaying the restart. The pre-match closing ceremony, a “damp squib”, was not broadcast live by the BBC or ITV.
FIFA had already faced criticism for introducing hydration breaks during the tournament – breaks that the Mirror said arrived at “suspiciously perfect moments for broadcasters to milk another herd of cash-cow adverts”. The final’s half-time show, which also featured Kermit and the Electric Mayhem, was the culmination of a World Cup that many felt had been Americanised beyond recognition.
Whether the spectacle wins over sceptical football fans remains an open question – but for Rooney and others, the purest 90 minutes in sport had been irretrievably tarnished.