FIFA is adding a halftime show to the World Cup final for the first time, with Robbie Williams set to perform at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19. He will join Laura Pausini on the pitch for their official FIFA track, Desire.
That is why the question of how long is halftime in the World Cup is suddenly getting attention: the final will now have a break that carries more than the usual reset between halves. The performance is being described as the first halftime show in World Cup history, and it arrives on the biggest night of the tournament, when the match will be decided in front of a global audience.
The show was curated by Chris Martin, who has already recruited Madonna, Shakira and BTS. The setup suggests FIFA wants the final to feel more like a spectacle than a standard matchday closing, even if the football still comes first.
Not everyone has warmed to the idea. Noel Gallagher brushed off the whole concept, saying he would rather do “the half-time raffle for a leg of lamb” and adding that he does not like the “razzmatazz of football.” He also said the performers are “not really football people,” a line that lands because it cuts against the pageantry FIFA is now leaning into.
That leaves the one detail fans still do not have: the actual length of the break. World Cup halftime has now been pulled into the spotlight by a first-of-its-kind show, but FIFA has not said whether the interval itself will be extended for the performance or kept close to the usual length. For Williams, the stage is set; for viewers, the clock is the unanswered part.
