Chris Martin has finally done it. As “creative curator” of Fifa’s spectacularly toe-curling half time World Cup final show he has ascended to a higher universe of naff. Cheesy, tepid, annoying – Martin’s answer to the Super Bowl half-time somehow squeezed a decade worth of Coldplay albums into 11 maddening minutes.
World Cups are all about going above and beyond in pursuit of greatness so you have to credit Fifa for outdoing itself with the controversial show it had seen fit to crowbar into the 2026 competition. Here was a symphony of crassness, a masterclass in overkill, a reminder why Martin really needs to go back to writing songs rather than trying to be a super-powered Blue Peter presenter bestriding the entirety of the planet.
Talk about scuffing your shot. Even more than the weeks of cynical fake water-breaks or those obligatory mid-game images of Fifa supremo Gianni Infantino in his corporate box, the opening few minutes of the controversial mid-game performance perfectly epitomised everything that has been tasteless and overblown about this latest’s edition of the world’s biggest sporting competition. As support artists Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal – not a single number one between them – trotted off to their dressing rooms, the cameras swooped down the tunnel to where Madonna was waiting, along with her chauffeurs for the evening, Brazil icons Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.
