World Cup 2026 final: Spotlight on Chris Martin’s team and tactics for ‘halftime show’

Chris Martin gathers his team to talk tactics. Until 10 days ago the Coldplay United manager was minded to play three upfront: Madonna, Shakira and the combined forces of BTS. But now the whiteboard diagrams outline an unorthodox, and potentially lethal, four-pronged attack. Justin Bieber has been announced as a late call-up to the squad.

Martin, officially the “curator” of this huge fixture, has war-gamed all eventualities – a flagging veteran here, an anonymous performance there – and opted for strength in depth.

The four headliners will receive support from Burna Boy, Gustavo Dudamel and PS 22 Chorus featuring, in a selection that will shock millions, Coldplay.

Martin doesn’t take lightly the responsibilities of the player-manager. He could have chosen to stay on the sidelines. He could have put in a phone call to Bono. But he has stepped up and volunteered to lead from the stage.

The future knight, queen of pop, Colombian superstar, K-pop boy band, former teen idol from Canada, Afrofusion star, acclaimed Venezuelan conductor, cover-singing New York schoolkids and other members of Coldplay will convey “a powerful message of unity and hope to billions of people worldwide”.

That, at least, is the preshow analysis provided by Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, who has unexpectedly attached himself to Martin’s mission.

Soccer’s global governing body will supply some bonus entertainment on Sunday night to help make Coldplay United’s big show more of a spectacle. There will be the usual preliminaries involving Tom Cruise, but the main warm-up act will be 45 minutes, though probably more, of footballing by men from Spain and Argentina.

This could admittedly test the patience of the audience in the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, who will have shelled out primarily to hear a live rendition of Dai Dai by Shakira and Burna Boy, but at least they know they’ve still got the good stuff to come.

The Fifa World Cup 2026 Final Halftime Show, as it is known for some reason, will be produced by Global Citizen, which is an “advocacy platform dedicated to achieving the end of extreme poverty”.

Its chief executive, Hugh Evans, says Martin got in touch with him about his “amazing idea” for the show four years ago. The event, according to Fifa, will raise money for the Fifa Global Citizen Education Fund, which will “expand access to quality education and football opportunities for children worldwide”, ensuring a legacy that transcends BTS’s final shoulder shimmy.

Still, not everything about Martin’s approach to the job has been declared in advance. Are Coldplay going to do Viva la Vida or what? Will he discourage new material? And how will he handle substitutions?

Would he dare take Shakira off the pitch, for instance? It’s a risky strategy. The Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) singer is such a World Cup regular, it’s almost as if she knows where the Fifa bodies are buried. Perhaps, when Madonna has done all she can to promote her new album, she’ll be replaced by a Muppet.

This, for clarity, is not an Infantino reference. Beloved puppet characters from The Muppets (and Sesame Street) are due to be celebrated as part of the extravaganza in a seamless continuation of the overall theme of the planet in 2026.

Another unknown is the duration. It is anticipated that the music will delight us for a mere 11 minutes, but this likely doesn’t include the time needed to assemble and then disassemble a stage. This has led to suggestions that the footballers from Spain and Argentina could enjoy up to a 30-minute break between their initial runaround and their post-show kick-about.

The extended period – twice the length of the rest they take when their game is played away from the bright lights of Bieber and company – may increase the risk of injury. But nobody said being the hype men for Coldplay United was easy, and the exposure they will get from being on the bill should benefit them in the long run. Indeed, it’s a golden opportunity to bring some much-needed publicity to the sport of football.

[ World Cup TV coverage provides circus of blunders for sleep-deprived viewersOpens in new window ]

The event is not without its detractors. Some wonder if Martin has made the mistake of selecting too many individual superstars who might not gel as a team. Others worry that the sporty faff surrounding the show could become the new industry template, with all future music festivals required to open with a five-a-side and close with penalties.

Still, hopes are high that Sunday’s crowd will stick around for the footballers’ encore, and that Martin’s powerful message of unity and hope will linger on the pitch when the Spanish and the Argentinians return for a friendly showcase of their skills.

There may also be a spontaneous mass outbreak of amateur singing. In some of the recent rehearsal events involving representatives of Coldplay’s home nation, the footballing display culminated in an emotional bout of Oasis karaoke. This has now been dropped from the final performance.

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