SNL just torched World Cup final halftime—and didn’t hold back

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It’s unusual for a big sporting event in the US to happen without music. The Super Bowl and most Thanksgiving Day football games always include a performance, and the upcoming World Cup final in July will be no different – it will also feature a special halftime show.

The upcoming show will include performances by Madonna, Shakira, and the K-Pop group BTS. After the announcement, Michael Che, co-host of Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update alongside Colin Jost, made a humorous comment about the performers.

During Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update, Che joked that FIFA revealed this year’s World Cup final will have a halftime show with Madonna, Shakira, and BTS – a lineup many people are already predicting they won’t enjoy.

Saturday Night Live pokes fun at World Cup final halftime show

The World Cup final is scheduled for Sunday, July 19th, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. For the first time ever, the event will feature a halftime show with musical performances. It remains to be seen if FIFA will continue to include music in future World Cup finals; we’ll likely find out in four years.

Honestly, it seems like FIFA thinks American fans need a little extra show with their soccer. Like, the actual game isn’t enough? I don’t know, maybe it’s because we’re used to the NFL where there’s always a halftime show and a whole experience around the game. A lot of us are used to going to a game and expecting some kind of concert or performance to break out during the match, so maybe FIFA is just trying to cater to that expectation.

It’s fitting that Shakira is involved – she’s teamed up with Burna Boy to create the official song for the 2026 World Cup, called “Dai Dai.” She also performed the official song for the 2010 World Cup, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” so she’s very familiar with the event.

It’s obvious FIFA aimed to feature widely popular artists. While it would have been great to include Bruce Springsteen, given the final is in New Jersey, he may not have been able to participate.

Even though Michael Che made a joke about it – and many people might agree – the halftime show is going to pack a lot of popular performers into just 11 minutes. That’s the planned length of the show. Fitting one artist into that time would be tough, but with three, it seems nearly impossible. So, we can expect songs to play over each other.

We’re optimistic about how the performance will go, and early signs are good. Now we just need a lot of people to watch the football game as well.

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2026-05-18 15:00