The 2026 World Cup final might not have been a football match for the ages on the pitch, but off it? Man, it was a circus we won’t soon forget. Spain grabbed their second trophy with a Ferran Torres extra-time goal against Argentina, but honestly, the actual game was overshadowed by everything else happening at New York New Jersey Stadium. This wasn’t just a game, it was a whole *event*, and it left everyone talking about the spectacle more than the score.
The Big Show Almost Buried the Game
You know it’s a wild day when the pre-kick-off show includes a speech from Hollywood’s own Tom Cruise and a pre-game appearance by US president Donald Trump. There were fireworks too, tons of ’em, bursting over the stadium in broad daylight! It felt less like a World Cup final and more like, well, something else entirely. Trump himself called this a World Cup like no other, and he’s not wrong. Remember when he admitted talking to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, asking for a review of US striker Folarin Balogun’s red card? That ban got lifted, Balogun played in the USA’s last-16 loss to Belgium. Trump apparently hadn’t gone to a single game before the final, arriving by helicopter in one of three choppers, doing a circuit before landing and taking his seat with Infantino about 20 minutes before kick-off. He even got shown the trophy in the first half. Talk about making an entrance! Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger even performed in the closing ceremony before the match. Wild.
That Half-Time Extravaganza Broke the Internet (and the Clock)
Then came the half-time show, a Super Bowl-style blowout that clocked in at an unprecedented 27 minutes. Twenty-seven minutes! While the players were probably just trying to catch their breath, fans were treated to a mini-concert featuring an insane lineup: Madonna, BTS, Coldplay, and Shakira, whose song ‘Dai Dai’ is the official anthem of the World Cup. Justin Bieber even showed up, giving us an acoustic guitar version of “Everything Hallelujah” after a “pep talk” from Ted Lasso and his assistant coach Beard. The reaction was mixed, to say the least. Former England striker Wayne Rooney didn’t hold back in the Match of the Day studio, bluntly stating, “I thought it was crap. I thought the performances were bad. The timings were bad. Just let us play football.” Yeah, Rooney, we get it.
What’s Next for Football?
Spain’s win was historic for them, securing their second World Cup title. Ferran Torres’s goal sealed it against Argentina, but the football itself almost felt like an afterthought. This final will definitely go down in the books, not for the artistry on the pitch, but for the wild, star-studded, and frankly, kind of bonkers spectacle that surrounded it. Is this what World Cup finals are going to be like now? It’s a lot to chew on for fans who just want to see some good football. We’re all just trying to figure out what kind of game we just watched.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
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