FIFA World Cup 2026 - Madonna

The Queen of Pop is going to the World Cup. Madonna will co-headline the first-ever World Cup Final halftime show on July 19, 2026
Madonna will co-headline the first-ever World Cup Final halftime show on July 19, 2026, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, during the World Cup final – her debut on football’s biggest stage. Shakira and BTS co-headline the show, which also features the Sesame Street Muppets. The halftime show lasts around 11 minutes, curated by Chris Martin and produced by Global Citizen.

Madonna at the World Cup – A First

Madonna has conquered just about every stage on earth across four decades – but never a World Cup. That changes in 2026, when one of the best-selling music artists of all time brings her unmatched showmanship to the final in New Jersey, per FIFA and Billboard. Whatever she performs, the symbolism is impossible to miss: the artist who redefined what a pop spectacle could be is headlining the first spectacle of its kind in World Cup history. Madonna’s involvement signals that FIFA wants this halftime show to stand alongside the Super Bowl as a global pop-culture event in its own right – not a sideshow to the football, but a main event. It’s also a savvy nod to the United States co-hosting, where the halftime-show format is practically a national institution.

For an artist synonymous with reinvention and spectacle, a global halftime debut feels almost overdue. Until now, the World Cup final has never had a Super Bowl-style halftime show. The 2026 edition changes that with an ~11-minute production curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin and produced by Global Citizen, raising money for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund. The show will also feature the Sesame Street Muppets, blending A-list star power with a family-friendly, charitable message.
With a catalog stacked with era-defining hits, Madonna has more potential setlist options than almost anyone alive. In a shared 11-minute window, expect a punchy, high-energy medley engineered for a worldwide audience rather than a deep-cuts night.

Sharing the Stage with Shakira & BTS – The trio is a fascinating cross-generational, cross-genre mix: a pop legend, a Latin-pop superstar, and the biggest group in K-pop. It mirrors the global, multicultural spirit of a 48-team, three-nation World Cup.

Credits: June 12, 2026, Tanuja A2Z SoundtrackA2Z Soundtrack is an independent music journalism site covering film, television, anime, K-drama, and video game soundtracks. Founded in 2023, they publish detailed, source-checked guides to original scores and licensed songs from the world's biggest releases - and the ones you might otherwise miss. If you have ever walked out of a movie, finished an episode, or beat a boss fight wondering "what was that song?" - this site exists for you. Across more than 1400 published guides, A2Z Soundtrack|➔|