World Cup final gets a Super Bowl twist with halftime show and rings
FIFA is adding a longer halftime show and championship rings to Sunday’s final, bringing American sports traditions to soccer’s biggest stage.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
The World Cup final is getting a shiny American makeover: a full halftime show and championship rings for the winners.
Sunday’s match will feature an on-field concert with Justin Bieber, Madonna, Shakira and BTS, according to NBC News. Reuters reported that the break could run to about 25 minutes so crews can set up the stage.
That is longer than soccer’s usual rhythm allows. International football rules state that halftime should last no more than 15 minutes.
The move gives the final a Super Bowl-style feel, and it arrives after a tournament that already introduced another change familiar to U.S. sports fans: scheduled stoppages inside each half.
Hydration breaks changed the tempo
FIFA has used cooling breaks before in hot conditions, including at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, NBC News reported. This tournament, however, was the first World Cup in which hydration breaks were required midway through each half of every match.
Each break lasted three minutes. In practice, that split games into four playing segments instead of two halves.
Some coaches were sharply critical. England coach Thomas Tuchel said the stoppages “interrupts and changes the identity of a football match much more than I thought,” according to NBC News.
Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa went further, saying that splitting matches into four periods altered how football is understood. “In my view, it adds nothing and takes away a lot,” Bielsa said, according to NBC News.
Other figures adjusted to the change. U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino did not initially endorse hydration breaks, NBC News reported, but during a pre-tournament friendly in Charlotte he was seen using one to show players tactical changes on a laptop.
U.S. player Sergiño Dest said last month that the break could help players regroup. “It’s also a chance to kind of settle and talk with your teammates,” Dest said, according to NBC News.
A longer halftime brings old concerns back
Soccer has tried halftime entertainment before. Last year’s Club World Cup included a halftime show, and CONMEBOL staged one during the 2024 Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia, NBC News reported.
That Copa America show drew criticism before the match. Colombia coach Nestor Lorenzo said the final’s halftime should be 15 minutes because that was the rule, according to NBC News.
Lorenzo warned that a longer wait could affect players physically, saying they could cool down too much before returning to the field.
FIFA’s Super Bowl flavor goes beyond music. On Thursday, the governing body announced that the winning players in Sunday’s final will receive championship rings along with the World Cup trophy and gold medals, NBC News reported.
In its announcement, FIFA said it was “bringing one of the most recognizable American sporting traditions to the global game.”
For a tournament already reshaped by timed breaks, Sunday’s final now comes with a concert, rings and a distinctly U.S. sports gloss on the world’s game.
This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.