FIFA will break its own rules with a half an hour half-time break in the World Cup final to accommodate a Super Bowl-like half-time show.
The 30-minute break during Monday morning’s final between Spain and the winner of England versus Argentina at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium will include an 11-minute show along with 15 minutes for broadcasters to conduct their usual mid-game analysis.
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Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira, BTS, Burna Boy, Gustavo Dudamel and the PS22 Chorus featuring Coldplay are all set to perform in the half-time show that FIFA hopes will rival the NFL’s annual Super Bowl spectacle.
The only obstacle in FIFA’s way is that the half-time interval must never be longer than 15 minutes according to the laws of the game.
But the governing body showed they were willing to bend laws during last year’s Club World Cup finals when a 25-minute half-time break happened at the same venue for a half-time show involving J Balvin, Doja Cat, and Tems as well as a surprise appearance by Coldplay and Australia’s Emmanuel Kelly.
While South American confederation, CONMEBOL, also broke the rules in 2024 by staging a performance from Shakira at half-time of the Copa America final in Miami.
Three years earlier CONMEBOL had their proposal to end the maximum duration for half-time to be 25 minutes rejected by the International Football Association Board.
The reason given for the refusal to change the law was due to the “negative impact on player welfare and safety resulting from a longer period of inactivity”.
The 30 minute half-time break is the latest disruption to play this World Cup with every game including a three-minute hydration break in each half to allow broadcasters to play more advertisements.
Entertainment will also take place pre-game with Robbie Williams, Tom Cruise and Nicole Scherzinger to be a part of the tournament’s closing ceremony, which will begin 90 minutes before kick-off.
“FIFA appears to be on a mission to Americanise football into soccer,” The Telegraph’s Jason Burt wrote.
“The headliners are, and always should be, out on the pitch wearing shirts, shorts, socks and football boots and kicking a ball with the aim of scoring a goal,” Burt added.
“That is it. That is all that matters. If it was not the case, football would not be so popular. The rest is greed with football in danger of eating itself.”
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‘MORE PRESSURE THAN WE NEEDED’: US STAR’S ADMISSION OVER RED CARD CONTROVERSY
Folarin Balogun admitted Tuesday that the suspension of his red card in the World Cup after President Donald Trump intervened put added pressure on the US team.
Balogun said in an interview with CBS he was “definitely in shock” when he was sent off for treading on the foot of a Bosnia-Herzegovina defender in his side’s 2-0 group-stage win.
“When something is not intentional it should never be a red card,” he said. But days before the next match, the last-16 knockout game against Belgium, world football’s governing body FIFA announced the red card had been suspended, clearing the way for Balogun to play.
Trump then admitted he had called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to ask for the card to be reviewed.
It has since been reported that human rights non-profit FairSquare reported Infantino to the International Olympic Committee over the incident.
FairSquare allege Infaninto, who became an IOC member in 2020, has repeatedly breached the Olympic Charter and the IOC’s code of ethics.
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The US went on to lose 4-1 to Belgium and Balogun made little impact despite starting the game.
“It was just an unfortunate situation and it put a lot more pressure on us than we needed,” said Balogun, 25.
“My initial reaction was I was happy to be back in the team but when I kind of started to reflect on it, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy.” He added: “I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves because it’s something that’s so unique.
“The closer it got to the game I just tried to focus as best as I could. It was difficult, a lot of outside noise, and that’s hard to avoid.”
Bellingham wins it for the Three Lions! | 00:26
KANE NOT DRAWN IN BY LONG-STANDING RIVALRY
Harry Kane said England will not be distracted by the emotional baggage surrounding their blockbuster World Cup semi-final against Argentina on Wednesday.
The history of matches between the nations is peppered with incidents, set against a lingering sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands, known in Spanish as the Malvinas, in the South Atlantic Ocean.
The most storied encounter between the teams was a 2-1 victory for Argentina at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico featuring two goals from Diego Maradona — one the infamous “Hand of God” goal and the other a dazzling solo effort considered one of the best ever.
Twelve years later David Beckham was sent off at France ‘98 as Argentina won on penalties.
England captain Kane was asked in an interview with ITV whether managing the emotion around the match in Atlanta would be challenging.
“Yes and no,” he said. “I think it’s not something you want to focus too much on, surrounding the history.
“That’s all part of it and that’s what you guys (in the media) will talk about, the fans will be involved in.
“But from a player’s point of view it’s us against a great team, who are smart, who are tactical, who know how to buy fouls, know how to slow the game down — like many different teams you come up against throughout your whole career.
“So, it’s England versus Argentina, it’s two of the biggest nations going toe to toe. Two giants in the semi-final of a World Cup. The rest of it is just a small part for us.”
Argentina advance to World Cup semis | 01:33
– Kane v Messi –
The Bayern Munich forward comes up against Golden Boot rival Lionel Messi, who is facing England for the first time in his long career.
The Argentinian maestro, 39, has eight goals so far, two more than Kane, but the England forward said his team would be focused on Argentina as a team rather than on their star player.
“We know how good a player he is, we know what he’s done in the game, how consistent he’s been for so long,” said Kane, who was top scorer at the 2018 World Cup.
“But the game is against Argentina, not against Lionel Messi. So yeah, we have a lot of preparation to do. We’re coming up against a great unit, a great team with fantastic players.” Kane, 32, downplayed the disagreement between manager Thomas Tuchel and midfielder Jude Bellingham after the German criticised England’s performance in the quarter-final against Norway.
“We know what we have, we know the togetherness we have, we all push each other, we all drive each other,” said the skipper.
“It doesn’t mean we have to agree on every situation, all the time. I think that’s what makes the boss so unique and so great, because he wears his heart on his sleeve, he’s emotional, he says it how it is.
“Sometimes in the moment it might be hard to take, but when you actually digest it and explain it, we’re all professionals, we’re all here because we’ve been pushed to a level that we can take.
“We can take criticism. We can take it on the chin, it improves us, it makes us better.”