The first ever halftime show at a World Cup final ran for 27 minutes and 19 seconds on Sunday, more than 12 minutes over the official limit, leaving millions of fans fuming and players waiting as Argentina and Spain were kept in the dressing room.
FIFA’s eclectic spectacle featured Madonna opening with her 2000 hit “Music” alongside Brazilian legends Ronaldinho and Ronaldo, who won the World Cup together in 2002. The medley continued with The Muppets and Los Angeles Philharmonic conductor Gustavo Dudamel performing The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army”, K-pop band BTS doing their 2020 single “Dynamite”, and cameo appearances from Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso and Brendan Hunt as Coach Beard. Justin Bieber sang an acoustic version of 2025 single “Everything Hallelujah”, followed by Shakira and Burna Boy’s World Cup anthem “Dai Dai”, and finally Coldplay accompanied by a child choir.
“FIFA's first World Cup halftime show ran 27 minutes, exceeding the 15-minute limit, sparking fan fury.”
Under the laws of the game governed by IFAB, half-time breaks should “not exceed 15 minutes”. The extended break sparked widespread backlash. One user posted a The Godfather meme on X, writing: “Halftime show at World Cup final. Look how they massacred my beautiful game,” mimicking Don Corleone’s reaction to his son’s death. Oasis singer Liam Gallagher weighed in: “It’s a good job I’ve got my spiritual socks on or that halftime entertainment could have tipped me over the edge.”
Others argued the show was detrimental to players’ routines. “The players should have not tolerate that. It’s the biggest game of most of their careers and they should not be bending their routines around half-hour half-time shows,” one user wrote. The Daily Mail branded it a “disaster”, while the Evening Standard called it a “smooth halftime show”.
Not all reactions were negative. One impressed viewer said: “Didn’t even know there was a World Cup halftime show and it’s better than any Super Bowl halftime show I’ve ever seen.” Another took the opportunity to mock Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence from the final: “Madonna with more World Cup Final appearances than Cristiano Ronaldo.”
The controversy raises questions about whether FIFA will repeat the experiment, especially as players’ preparation and the game’s traditional rhythm were sacrificed for entertainment.