It was the moment football met the Super Bowl, but Wayne Rooney was not impressed. The former England striker delivered a brutally honest verdict on the first World Cup final half-time show, telling BBC viewers: "I like a lot of these artists but I thought it was crap."
The 11-minute spectacle, curated by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, expanded the interval between Spain and Argentina to 27 minutes and 19 seconds – more than double the 15 minutes stipulated in the laws of the game. Madonna opened the show, driven onto the MetLife Stadium pitch by Brazil greats Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, followed by performances from BTS, Justin Bieber, Shakira with Burna Boy, Coldplay with a children's choir, and appearances from the Muppets and Sesame Street characters.
“Wayne Rooney called the first World Cup final half-time show 'crap' as the 27-minute spectacle featuring Madonna and Bieber divided fans.”
Rooney, working as a BBC pundit alongside Joe Hart and Micah Richards, did not hold back. "It just didn't get me going and I wanted the football to come back on," he said. "I like Burna Boy, I like Bieber, I like Shakira, but that was too flat." Richards called his former England teammate "miserable".
Roy Keane, speaking on ITV, was also underwhelmed: "It was a bit of an anti-climax, but listen, it's so nice to see Shakira." Gary Neville said he "enjoyed it", while Ian Wright claimed Burna Boy "saved it". Oasis singer Liam Gallagher weighed in on social media, writing: "It's a good job I've got my spiritual socks on or that halftime entertainment could have tipped me over the edge." Fans posted the Godfather meme: "Look how they massacred my beautiful game." Yet some hailed it as better than any Super Bowl half-time show.
The half-time show was staged in support of the Fifa Global Citizen Education Fund, aiming to raise $100m (£75m) to expand access to education and football for children.
On the pitch, Spain won their second World Cup with a 106th-minute strike from Ferran Torres, defeating the defending champions 1-0. Argentina's frustration boiled over after the final whistle: Leandro Paredes was shown a red card for shoving Eric Garcia and wrestling Gavi, while Enzo Fernandez had been sent off earlier in extra time. Rooney lambasted the team's reaction: "It's a reaction to them being outplayed, outfought, outthought. They resort to that at the end. It's sad. It's poor from the Argentina team."
The match went ahead despite flash floods and tornado warnings in New York and New Jersey, and US President Donald Trump was in attendance to present the trophy alongside Fifa president Gianni Infantino. Whether football fans will ever accept Super Bowl-style entertainment remains an open question.
