Will the 2026 World Cup final halftime compare to the Super Bowl?

Welcome to America, land of capitalism and commercials. While soccer fans in New Jersey and across the country may have expected that a halftime show at a major sporting event — like the World Cup final — would take place on the field, it seems that fact of life here is still being negotiated by FIFA, the international organization responsible for bringing the 2026 World Cup to the Meadowlands and MetLife Stadium in a few weeks. For the uninitiated, every year in the United States, the football season ends with a huge spectacle replete with military flyovers, a concert halfway through the game and enough ad buys to foster the economy of a small country.

That spectacle is the Super Bowl. And that football is the American kind — played with hands and very little kicking. How will the 2026 World Cup final halftime show feel familiar to Americans?

How will the 2026 World Cup final, set to be played at MetLife Stadium on July 19, compare? When it was announced last year that Global Citizen and FIFA would partner for a Super Bowl-style halftime show curated by Coldplay front man Chris Martin for the final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, expectations seemed to be that it would follow what Americans were used to seeing. Martin and a slew of Muppets announced on social media that Madonna, Shakira and BTS would be the co-headliners on July 19 at MetLife, though the caption referred to the stadium by its temporary other name.

The halftime show at the Club World Cup held last summer, a kind of dress rehearsal for this summer’s main event, was held on a stage in the stands. It’s unlikely anyone involved this year is on board with cutting back on the number of seats that can be filled to accommodate a stage. More: Big names coming to North Jersey for World Cup final's halftime show Why are some soccer fans miffed about the 2026 World Cup halftime show?