NEWSWorld Cup Halftime Show Backlash Grows as Fans Rip First FIFA Spectacle as Too American
FIFA's first World Cup halftime show received widespread backlash.
July 23 2026, Published 9:33 a.m. ET
The first World Cup final halftime show was built like a global pop spectacle. For many soccer fans, that was exactly the problem.
FIFA’s 27-minute production during the Spain vs. Argentina final at MetLife Stadium featured BTS, Shakira, Justin Bieber, Chris Martin, Burna Boy, The Muppets and other stars. Response outside the U.S. was swift, with critics arguing that the Super Bowl-style break felt out of step with a tournament whose traditions are built around two halves and a short intermission.
Fans criticized the Super Bowl-style production during the final.
“Halftime spectacles backfire when the production outshouts the thing people came for,” said Amore Philip, founder of Apples and Oranges Public Relations. “Fans arrive with a covenant: the sport is the star. Cross that line and the show reads as a sponsor's ad wearing the game as a costume, and audiences punish it.”
A Flashy Show Meets Soccer Tradition
Critics argued the extended halftime disrupted soccer tradition.
The production arrived after other World Cup changes had already irritated some viewers, including controversial “hydration breaks” that critics viewed as ad breaks.
The halftime show also exceeded the usual 15-minute break players are entitled to under International Football Association Board rules.
The show included Carlos Alcaraz and Hoyeon opening a Louis Vuitton case to reveal the World Cup trophy, a moment that drew heavy criticism online.
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Critics Call It ‘Glib and Unsubtle’
Wayne Rooney dismissed the halftime spectacle as disappointing.
Reaction from the U.K. was especially sharp. The Guardian wrote that, to detractors, the show looked like America “imposing itself” on the World Cup. The Times called it a “glib and unsubtle spectacle.”
Former English soccer star Wayne Rooney also went viral for his blunt verdict: “My favorite bit of the halftime show was when it finished… I like all of them artists, but I thought it was c---.”
The criticism was not limited to Europe. TIME called the show “blandly, sappily crowd-pleasing,” while The Athletic described it as “slick, surreal and entirely unnecessary.”
What FIFA Risks Next
FIFA faced questions over the future of the entertainment format.
Fan outrage alone, however, may not determine whether FIFA repeats the experiment.
“Backlash rarely changes the balance sheet in the moment, which is why leagues keep experimenting, but it does shape the next negotiation,” Philip noted.
“The metric that matters is not outrage volume, it is whether the format deepened or diluted the core fan's relationship with the event,” she added. “FIFA will repeat this only if the sponsorship upside clearly outweighs the erosion of that trust.”
