The World Cup final's first halftime show — BTS, Madonna, and a break stretched past the 15-minute rule

Who is on the field at halftime

FIFA announced on 16–17 July that Justin Bieber, Madonna, Shakira and BTS will co-headline the halftime show at the final on 19 July at MetLife Stadium — rebadged New York New Jersey Stadium for the tournament. Chris Martin was asked to curate it; also on the bill are Burna Boy, the Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel, and the PS 22 Chorus with Coldplay. The part that goes to air is about 11 minutes. FIFA is tying the show to a charity push for its Global Citizen Education Fund.

There has never been a halftime show at a men's World Cup final before. This is FIFA borrowing the Super Bowl, and it lands at the biggest game of the four-year cycle.

The 15-minute rule

The Laws of the Game are specific: the interval between halves must not last more than 15 minutes. An 11-minute performance does not fit inside 15 minutes once players leave and return, so the halftime break at the final is expected to stretch to somewhere around 20 to 25 minutes — well past the limit.

FIFA has already done this. At the 2025 Club World Cup in the United States, one halftime ran to about 25 minutes. So the final is not a one-off experiment; it is the continuation of something FIFA has been testing on its American stages.

Why some in the game object

The rule is not there by accident. In 2021, CONMEBOL proposed lengthening the maximum halftime to 25 minutes, and the game's lawmakers, the IFAB, turned it down, citing the negative effect on player welfare and safety of a longer spell of standing around.

There is a recent, concrete example of that concern. At the 2024 Copa América final in Miami, a roughly 25-minute Shakira concert pushed back the restart, and Colombia's head coach complained about it afterwards. Players who have warmed down and cooled off for 25 minutes have to go back out and play a World Cup final. That is the argument, and it is not new.

Around the match

The show is only part of it. A closing ceremony is set to begin about 90 minutes before kick-off, roughly 1:30 p.m. Eastern. Reports have Jennifer Hudson singing the U.S. anthem before the match and a lineup for the ceremony that includes an appearance by Tom Cruise, though FIFA has confirmed fewer of those details than it has for the halftime bill.

Watching from Japan

Kick-off is 3 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, 19 July, which is 4 a.m. on Monday, 20 July in Japan. Per the tournament's Japan broadcast guide, DAZN streams the final live with Japanese commentary and is showing it free. If you are up for the whole thing, the practical note is simple: the second half will not start at the usual 15-minute mark. Whether a 25-minute halftime helps Argentina's older legs or Spain's rhythm, or neither, is the sort of thing that will only be clear once the players come back out.