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Outgoing British envoy praises Tinubu’s economic reforms • Global road deaths drop 21%, but Africa records alarming rise • Yobe gov sponsors 16 state varsity lecturers to India for postgraduate studies • Edo closes case in suspected kidnappers’ trial • At least 41 dead in Guyana capsized ferry disaster • The economy Nigeria isn’t governing • NBA Election: I was disenfranchised like many lawyers, still Badejo-Okusanya could’ve won – SAN • FG Moves To Reduce Cargo Clearance From 21 To Seven Days At Nigerian Ports • Osun 2026: Aregbesola leads ADC campaign in Ife • Anambra Begins Dredging Ikenga Waterway To Tackle Flooding In Awka • Fake doctor nabbed in Calabar over N500,000 UCTH job scam • Benue revenue service has no mandate to fund agencies – BIRS chairman Kwaghgba • Cardoso says inflation path delayed, not derailed by new shocks • SSonic Petroleum Limited, 30 others emerge winners of 2025 licensing round • Senate demands AMCON scorecard Ahead of 2030 Wind-Up, clears Yuguda for new role • Reps call for stronger food safety to curb diseases • Atiku’s US lobbyist forwards Tinubu’s forfeiture case records to Trump, Congress • Sokoto APC bans candidates from pasting campaign posters on roundabouts • VIDEO: Defence Minister Musa Denies Resignation Claims • NSCDC handles 100 gender-related cases in Kwara in six months • Outgoing British envoy praises Tinubu’s economic reforms • Global road deaths drop 21%, but Africa records alarming rise • Yobe gov sponsors 16 state varsity lecturers to India for postgraduate studies • Edo closes case in suspected kidnappers’ trial • At least 41 dead in Guyana capsized ferry disaster • The economy Nigeria isn’t governing • NBA Election: I was disenfranchised like many lawyers, still Badejo-Okusanya could’ve won – SAN • FG Moves To Reduce Cargo Clearance From 21 To Seven Days At Nigerian Ports • Osun 2026: Aregbesola leads ADC campaign in Ife • Anambra Begins Dredging Ikenga Waterway To Tackle Flooding In Awka • Fake doctor nabbed in Calabar over N500,000 UCTH job scam • Benue revenue service has no mandate to fund agencies – BIRS chairman Kwaghgba • Cardoso says inflation path delayed, not derailed by new shocks • SSonic Petroleum Limited, 30 others emerge winners of 2025 licensing round • Senate demands AMCON scorecard Ahead of 2030 Wind-Up, clears Yuguda for new role • Reps call for stronger food safety to curb diseases • Atiku’s US lobbyist forwards Tinubu’s forfeiture case records to Trump, Congress • Sokoto APC bans candidates from pasting campaign posters on roundabouts • VIDEO: Defence Minister Musa Denies Resignation Claims • NSCDC handles 100 gender-related cases in Kwara in six months

July 21, 2026|20:09

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2026 World Cup

Hits, misses and Muppets: the star-studded World Cup half-time show nobody asked for

The Guardian Football 2 days 1 mins read

It zipped along, cramming in Shakira, Madonna and Coldplay, but football fans may not be convinced of need for this mid-match spectacle

Like hydration breaks and Donald Trump’s ability to get refereeing decisions overturned by simply phoning up the president of Fifa and complaining, the final half-time show is an innovation of the 2026 World Cup that comes with a degree of controversy attached. For one thing, its existence automatically means the World Cup final breaks the International Football Association’s 15-minute half-time mandate.

For another, its obvious antecedent lies in the NFL’s Super Bowl, where the half-time entertainment has mushroomed over the decades from a few marching bands to one of the big pop events of the year. To its detractors, it smacks of America not so much embracing the World Cup as imposing itself upon it.

This article was sourced from an external publication.

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