People noticed Robbie Williams’ outfit at the World Cup closing ceremony on Sunday was very similar to the look of a famous TV character, thanks to its sparkly design.
The singer performed alongside many famous artists in the championship match at MetLife Stadium in New York. Afterward, Spain won the World Cup by defeating Argentina 1-0.
Robbie performed on stage wearing a shimmering blue tracksuit covered in rhinestones, and the outfit immediately caused a buzz online.
Someone pointed out that the outfit closely resembled the tracksuit famously worn by the character Paulie ‘Walnuts’ Gualtieri in the HBO show The Sopranos, which ran from 1999 to 2007.
A photo of Robbie Williams was shared with the caption: ‘He’s channeling his inner Paulie Walnuts from The Sopranos right now!’
Paulie Walnuts was a loyal follower of Tony Soprano who worked as an enforcer for him. He eventually rose through the ranks to become a captain within the DiMeo crime family, largely driven by his desire to earn Tony’s respect.
The character, famous for his combed-back hair, gold jewelry, and quick, memorable lines, was brought to life by Tony Sirico, who sadly passed away in 2022. He had been living with dementia for several years before his death.
Robbie performed with Laura and Nicole Scherzinger at the closing ceremony, which many viewers found confusing.
Adding the display and halftime show was already a controversial choice, and people immediately shared their reactions – both positive and negative – after it happened.
Oh my gosh, it was HUGE! Like, ALL the biggest stars were going to be there – and TOM CRUISE was leading everything! The whole thing was meant to celebrate every single one of the 48 countries playing in the tournament, which honestly? It deserved all the fanfare. I mean, Tom Cruise! I nearly fainted when I heard!
Fans eager to see the 64-year-old Hollywood star had to wait nearly 90 minutes because of an unusual performance by YouTuber IShowSpeed before the game started.
Tom Cruise made a brief but highly anticipated appearance just before the players entered the field. FIFA saved his appearance for the closing moments of the ceremony, where he spoke about the tournament and called it the largest World Cup ever held.
Okay, so everyone was SO ready for Tom Cruise to just arrive at his TED Talk like he does in his movies – seriously, we were expecting a helicopter! I was honestly gutted when that didn’t happen. And can you believe FIFA totally dropped the ball? They could have partnered with a helicopter company and made it legendary! It would have been AMAZING. We all talked about it on X, just saying… a missed opportunity!
‘About as inspiring as watching your cat get run over;
‘Such an underwhelming closing ceremony. Zero creativity just artists singing;’
‘The lip syncing for these closing ceremony performances is horrific;’
‘Imagine telling someone a few years ago that ishowspeed is gonna perform at the world cup;’
‘Worst closing ceremony.. obviously low budget;’
‘The World Cup closing show was terrible – lousy production, just like the opening ceremony.’
The show also faced criticism for its halftime performance, which featured a diverse lineup of stars including Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira, and even the Muppets.
The decision by FIFA to include a halftime show at the World Cup final caused disagreement among celebrities.
Wayne playfully said he enjoyed the show most when it ended, while he and Gabby Logan chatted about the unusual group of performers.
Liam Gallagher didn’t hold back, calling the performance ‘like a bad trip.’ He then joked that he was glad he had his ‘spiritual socks’ on, otherwise the halftime show might have been too much to handle.
2026-07-20 10:34