First World Cup Halftime Show Assembles Madonna, BTS, and the Muppets

The 2026 FIFA World Cup ended with Spain defeating Argentina in extra time, but the match’s strangest break arrived earlier, during the first-ever official Halftime Show. At MetLife Stadium, FIFA staged an 11-minute pop parade that mixed global superstars, orchestral flourishes, and felt puppets. It was historically unprecedented and tonally bewildering.

Madonna opened, performing “Music” while Brazilian legends Ronaldo and Ronaldinho escorted her onto the field. What followed lurched between registers without apology: the Muppets, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, delivered a cover of the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army,” backed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra. BTS ran through “Dynamite,” and Justin Bieber, introduced by two actors in character as Ted Lasso and Coach Beard, played an acoustic “Everything Hallelujah” with rewritten World Cup lyrics. Shakira and Burna Boy closed the official show with their tournament anthem “Dai Dai,” before Chris Martin, Shakira, and the Muppets led a children’s chorus on “We Believe.”

The opening ceremony had already seen Jennifer Hudson sing the national anthem, Post Malone debut a song called “Chrome Heartbreak,” and Robbie Williams, Nicole Scherzinger, and Laura Pausini perform a soundtrack cut. Not everyone celebrated. In an Instagram post ahead of kickoff, the Cure mocked the pageantry and took issue with FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s characterization of the show as “groundbreaking.” It was a small, sour note in an event that treated pop as decoration, not conviction.