The World Cup final kicked off six minutes late after a pre-match show featuring some of the world’s biggest names. Spain faced Argentina in the final of the biggest sporting event on earth, but the players were forced to wait until the match started.
First, there’s the pregame ceremony where Jennifer Hudson sings the U.S. national anthem in front of a sold-out crowd at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Tom Cruise then delivered a monologue and Carlos Alcaraz helped present the World Cup trophy.
But that wasn’t all. Robbie Williams then performed the official FIFA anthem, followed by the singing of each national anthem to bring the festivities to a close. In the end, the match kicked off six minutes later than scheduled.
Gabby Logan said on the BBC’s broadcast: “The teams are in the tunnel and of course they’re probably a few minutes late for kick-off. It’s not going to start on time. But I think we understand that it’s always going to be a bit loose on a show like this.”
Meanwhile, fans flocked to social media to complain about the delay. @Afoxich wrote on X: “World Cup final kickoff delayed waiting for Jennifer Hudson (palm emoji).”
@4rchis quipped: “The delayed kick-off affected the World Cup final.”
@aljohn96 added: “Looks like this final is going to be stop-start. 5 minutes late. Then a hydration break. Then a 45 minute halftime for an almost half-time show. Then another hydration break. They’re just completely ruining the football here.”
@IsonCallum said: “It’s good that the biggest game in football was delayed by 5 minutes, but to have it delayed even further due to a stupid announcement. The pre-game for the World Cup final was a bit of a travesty to say the least.”
This was not the only performance of the day, there was also a performance at halftime. Shakira and Madonna were among those who attended the first-ever World Cup final halftime show.
Meanwhile, there were reports that members of the media were delayed for several hours entering the stadium. Security checks were increased due to Donald Trump’s presence, and it is alleged that the US Secret Service was involved in the organizing process.
