"For the first time in history": Gianni Infantino announces a spectacular change to the 2026 World Cup final

The 2026 World Cup final will be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, and the half-time show is already shaping up to be a major musical event. FIFA boss Infantino says British pop band Coldplay and frontman Chris Martin are curating the performance. “I can’t reveal who’s playing just yet, but there will be more than one artist. It will be the biggest show on earth—fantastic,” he added.

While US sports fans are accustomed to high-profile half-time shows—most famously at the Super Bowl—this FIFA event promises to raise the global profile of the format.

In football, however, musical performances during the 15-minute half-time interval are a rare occurrence. This is partly because many fans dislike this kind of entertainment. The DFB experimented with this during the 2017 DFB Cup Final in Berlin, where Eintracht Frankfurt faced Borussia Dortmund, commissioning a half-time show from pop singer Helene Fischer. Her performance was met with a loud chorus of boos from many supporters in the Olympic Stadium.

Fischer shrugged it off afterwards, saying: “I suppose a musician has to go through that sometimes. I’ve built up a thick skin over the years, and since yesterday I’ve even grown some hair. Standing there as an artist and feeling that concentrated testosterone power, that was quite something…" Referring to the booing fans, she added: "But I didn’t find it that bad at all. There’s a grudge there; they didn’t want any entertainment."

Looking ahead to the World Cup, Infantino promised that “every star you can imagine” would shine at the finals in the USA, Canada and Mexico, citing NFL legend Tom Brady and former NBA centre Shaquille O’Neal as examples. Both had already played key roles as draw hosts during the group-stage draw for the tournament. “They love it,” the FIFA boss stated.