Madonna kicked off the Super Bowl-style show, one of ​several American elements added to this year’s tournamentWorld Cup half-time show: Ronaldinho, Madonna and Ronaldo. Photograph: Carl Recine/Getty Images Rosalba O'BrienLisa RichwineMon Jul 20 2026 - 09:41 • 2 MIN READSuperstars Madonna, BTS, Justin Bieber and Shakira offered a high-energy musical medley on Sunday in ‌the first half-time show at a World Cup final. Madonna kicked off the Super Bowl-style show, one of ​several American elements added to this year’s tournament, with a performance of her 2000 hit single Music. Wearing a pink corset and sporty jacket, she emerged from the tunnels of New York New Jersey Stadium via a ​dune buggy driven by Brazilian football greats Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. The ⁠spotlight moved to renowned Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who led an orchestra of ‌musicians ‌from ​New York and Venezuela, plus The Muppets band Electric Mayhem and their wild drummer Animal, in a rendition of the White ⁠Stripes song Seven Nation Army. K-pop group ​BTS, clad in black-and-red outfits, followed with ​the upbeat Dynamite. American actors Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt, in character as coaches from TV ‌show Ted Lasso, introduced Bieber as a ​mid-show substitution. “Go out there, don’t be nervous, nobody’s watching,” Sudeikis said to the singer. ⁠Bieber slowed the tempo with the ⁠acoustic Everything Hallelujah, changing ​the song’s final words to World Cup Hallelujah. Colombian singer Shakira and Nigeria’s Burna Boy joined for Dai Dai, the official song of the 2026 World Cup. Shakira shimmered in a sequinned pink-and-yellow outfit that complemented a multicoloured carpet underneath. The show ended with the word LOVE splashed across the field, with an image of the Earth representing the letter O.In advance of the match, the half-time show ‌drew criticism for deviating ⁠from the traditional 15-minute interval. International Laws of the Game say players are entitled to a half-time interval “not exceeding 15 minutes.” Tournament regulations, however, mention ‌a 15-minute break but do not say it cannot exceed that time.[ World Cup 2026 final: Spotlight on Chris Martin’s team and tactics for ‘halftime show’Opens in new window ]The musical performances lasted 11 minutes, ​but the entire break extended to around 27 minutes as ​workers moved equipment to and from the pitch. – ReutersWorld Cup half-time show: Ronaldinho, Madonna and Ronaldo. Photograph: Carl Recine/Getty Images World Cup half-time show: Ronaldinho and Ronaldo. Photograph: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images World Cup half-time show: Animal performing with The Muppets band Electric Mayhem and Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who led an orchestra of ‌musicians ‌from ​New York and Venezuela. Photopgraph: Kevin C Cox/Getty Images World Cup half-time show: K-pop group BTS. Photograph: Carl Recine/Getty Images World Cup half-time show: Justin Beiber. Photograph: Buda Mendes/Getty Images World Cup half-time show: Shakira. Photograph: Lars Baron/Getty Images World Cup half-time show: Shakira with children who were part of the performace. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/Getty Images World Cup half-time show: Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog with children who were part of the performace. Photograph: Carl Recine/Getty Images World Cup half-time show: Coldplay's Chris Martin. Photograph: Carl Recine/Getty Images World Cup half-time show: The performance ended with the word 'love' splashed across the field. Photograph: Elsa/Getty Images (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026IN THIS SECTION