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The FIFA World Cup halftime show was so unhinged you need to see it to believe it <div id="zephr-anchor"><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01">I can’t stop thinking about the halftime show of the World Cup final. It was one of those things you just had to see to believe. It was so weird, so improbable, so nonsensical that part of me is in awe of what took place, and part wonders how many people it took to greenlight this and assume it was a good idea.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01">Truthfully, here’s how I presented the halftime show to my non-soccer watching friends in our group chat.</p></div><div class="duet--article--block-placement tswlmh1 tswlmh0 duet--article--article-body-component"><div style="position:relative"><div class="_1upudxkj"><div class=""><div style="background-image:none" class="duet--media--content-warning _19uv5q0"><div class="duet--article--image-gallery-image _19lkh3w0" style="aspect-ratio:0.692718" id="c2IyOmltYWdlOjExMjI4MDI="><a class="_19lkh3w1" href="https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_0333.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" data-pswp-height="1689" data-pswp-width="1170" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer"><img alt="" data-chromatic="ignore" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="_8s7ip80" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url("data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='/%3E%3C/svg%3E")" sizes="(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 1023px) 50vw, 700px" srcset="https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_0333.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=256 256w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_0333.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=376 376w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_0333.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=384 384w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_0333.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=415 415w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_0333.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=480 480w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_0333.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=540 540w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_0333.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=640 640w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_0333.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=750 750w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_0333.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=828 828w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_0333.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=1080 1080w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_0333.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=1200 1200w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_0333.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=1440 1440w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_0333.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=1920 1920w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_0333.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2048 2048w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_0333.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2400 2400w" src="https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_0333.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2400"/></a></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01">Let’s expand beyond the group chat to examine the key elements of all this. It begins with Madonna emerging from a disco ball amidst roller skaters before jumping in a dune buggy being driven by Ronaldo (R9) and Ronaldinho. Poor R9 seemed frozen while driving the dune buggy. He was smiling as if he was trapped in a hostage video and didn’t seem relaxed for one second until he was off camera altogether.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01">Madonna represented the USA element of this halftime show. This is important, because we’re going to come back to this.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01">Then we got the Muppets playing “Seven Nation Army,” with Gustavo Dudamel leading the New York Philharmonic, which was a delight. I don’t know why exactly they were playing “Seven Nation Army, but I didn’t care because it was cool.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01">BTS were great because they’re BTS. Look, I am a 41-year-old man, and yes, my view of K-Pop might be extremely skewed due to my nine-year-old daughter’s love of K-Pop — but it was rad. BTS put on a great show, and are still my pick (along with Blackpink and others) to be the Super Bowl halftime show this year.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01">Next up was a Ted Lasso interlude, because of course there was. It made me wonder how much Ted Lasso resonates outside the USA at all. I know the show has fans in England, but is this something that has really gone global? If not this would be <em>wildly</em> confusing, but nonetheless it led to the Canadian element of the halftime show: Justin Bieber.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01">Never really cared for Biebs. It was fine. I’m not gonna lie though, the “BELIEBE” sign made me giggle.</p></div><div class="duet--article--block-placement tswlmh1 tswlmh0 duet--article--article-body-component"><div style="position:relative"><div class="_1upudxkj"><div class=""><div style="background-image:none" class="duet--media--content-warning _19uv5q0"><div class="duet--article--image-gallery-image _19lkh3w0" style="aspect-ratio:1.857333" id="c2IyOmltYWdlOjExMjI4MDU="><a class="_19lkh3w1" href="https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-10.34.20-AM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" data-pswp-height="1500" data-pswp-width="2786" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer"><img alt="" data-chromatic="ignore" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="_8s7ip80" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url("data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='/%3E%3C/svg%3E")" sizes="(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 1023px) 50vw, 700px" srcset="https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-10.34.20-AM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=256 256w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-10.34.20-AM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=376 376w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-10.34.20-AM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=384 384w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-10.34.20-AM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=415 415w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-10.34.20-AM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=480 480w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-10.34.20-AM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=540 540w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-10.34.20-AM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=640 640w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-10.34.20-AM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=750 750w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-10.34.20-AM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=828 828w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-10.34.20-AM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=1080 1080w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-10.34.20-AM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=1200 1200w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-10.34.20-AM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=1440 1440w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-10.34.20-AM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=1920 1920w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-10.34.20-AM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2048 2048w, https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-10.34.20-AM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2400 2400w" src="https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-20-at-10.34.20-AM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2400"/></a></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01">Okay then, we’re well past the halfway point and we’ve had USA’s artist and Canada’s artist representing two of the host nations — now we just need a performer from Mexico to bring it home. Introducing … SHAKIRA?!</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01">Look, I know Shakira is intimately involved in all things FIFA, but she is very well known and established to be Colombian. You can’t just replace Mexico’s place in all this by grabbing another Latin artist and calling it a day. Sure, the theme of all this was supposed to be global, but it was extremely weird to have two host nation countries represented and not a third.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01">Shakira did what Shakira has done for 20 years.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01">It was time to close out the show by remembering the children are our future. Dozens of kids were on the field, and incredible props to some of these youngsters for performing solos in front of an entire stadium, with hundreds-of-millions of people watching around the globe. I could have never.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01">The Muppets were back, this time in their Sesame St. variant forms, because children and Sesame St. Chris Martin and Coldplay were in the background offering support. It was technically their number, but nobody puts Miss Piggy in the corner.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01">The prevailing theme of the whole show was love across the world, which I could be really jaded about — and normally I would be, but damn did it feel needed right now. This was joyous anarchy, and while the world might not be accustomed to the halftime show, it was a really nice breather. The big misstep was not having a performer representing Mexico, however.</p></div></div> #FIFA #World #Cup #halftime #show #unhinged

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