FIFA president Gianni Infantino has confirmed that the 2026 men’s World Cup final, hosted in the United States, will include a halftime show for the first time.

The U.S., Canada and Mexico are set to co-host next year’s tournament, with the final set to be played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19, 2026.

Never in the history of the tournament — from the inaugural competition in 1930 to now — has there been a halftime show, but Infantino confirmed the break of tradition after speaking at a World Cup event in Dallas.

“I can confirm the first ever halftime show at a FIFA World Cup final in New York and New Jersey, in association with Global Citizen,” Infantino said in an Instagram post last week.

“This will be a historic moment for the FIFA World Cup and a show befitting the biggest sporting event in the world.”

As well as advocacy group Global Citizen, Infantino said FIFA would be working with British group Coldplay to help produce the halftime show.

Coldplay performed at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2016 and called upon artists such as Bruno Mars and Beyoncé as special guests. Infantino did not say Coldplay would be performing in 2026, but said its members would be helping put together a list of artists.

The official rules of soccer, outlined by the International Football Association Board, state that halftime breaks should not exceed 15 minutes and it’s unclear whether it will be changed to accommodate the performance, such as with halftime shows at the Super Bowl.

FIFA said that it didn’t have any more details than already announced on the proposed halftime show at this time.

While there hasn’t been a halftime show during a World Cup final before, the world of elite soccer has called upon musical acts for major competitions in the past.

In recent years, World Cup tournaments have had official songs and the Champions League final — the top club competition in Europe — has often included pre-match musical acts, such as Lenny Kravitz ahead of last year’s final at Wembley Stadium in London.

In 2022, though, singer Camila Cabello was drowned out by both Liverpool and Real Madrid fans ahead of the Champions League final.

The opening match of the 2026 World Cup is set to kick off in Mexico City at the Estadio Azteca on June 11, 2026.

The schedule will consist of 104 matches as the tournament has been expanded to 48 national teams from 32. (SD-Agencies)

国际足联主席詹尼•因凡蒂诺确认，2026年在美国举办的男子世界杯决赛将首次引入中场表演。美国、加拿大和墨西哥将联合主办明年的赛事，决赛定于2026年7月19日在新泽西的大都会人寿体育场举行。从1930年首届赛事至今，世界杯历史上从未有过中场表演，但因凡蒂诺最近在达拉斯的一次世界杯相关活动上发言，确认了这个消息。

因凡蒂诺上周在Instagram发帖表示：“我们与‘全球公民’组织合作，在纽约州和新泽西州举行的国际足联世界杯决赛中将首次呈现中场表演。这将是世界杯的历史性时刻，表演配得上全球最大的体育盛事。”除了全球公民组织，因凡蒂诺还提到国际足联将与英国酷玩乐队合作出品中场表演。

酷玩曾在2016年超级碗中场秀上演出，并邀请了布鲁诺•马尔斯和碧昂斯等艺术家作为特别嘉宾。因凡蒂诺未明确2026年酷玩是否会登台表演，但表示乐队成员将协助敲定演出阵容。根据国际足联理事会制定的官方规则，中场休息不应超过15分钟，目前尚不清楚是否会因为加入类似于超级碗中场秀的演出而调整规则。

国际足联表示，关于中场表演目前没有更多细节可提供。尽管此前世界杯决赛未曾有过中场表演，但过去足球顶级赛事曾邀请音乐家表演。近年来，世界杯赛事有了官方歌曲，而欧洲顶级俱乐部赛事——欧冠决赛，也常在赛前安排音乐表演。莱尼•克拉维茨曾在去年伦敦温布利球场决赛前登台演出。不过，2022年欧冠决赛前，卡米拉•卡贝洛的歌声被利物浦和皇马球迷的欢呼淹没。

2026年世界杯揭幕战将于2026年6月11日在墨西哥城的阿兹特克体育场打响。赛程将包含104场比赛，因为参赛队伍从32支扩增至48支。(Translated by DeepSeek)