The World Cup final will feature a star-studded halftime show headlined by Madonna, Shakira and boy-band BTS.
FIFA has announced that, for the first time, the final at the Metlife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19 will include a Super Bowl-style concert.
The governing body said the show would support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which is raising $100 million to help children access education and soccer.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said it would bring together “music and football on the biggest stage in sport for a very special cause.”
“Every child should have the opportunity to dream, and together we can help make that possible,” he posted on Instagram.
The show will be curated by Coldplay's Chris Martin.
The Super Bowl is famed for its halftime show - attracting the world's biggest stars for spectacular performances. This year featured Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny.
Previous headliners included Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Madonna, Prince, Bruce Springsteen and Rhianna.
But halftime shows are not so commonplace in soccer, with events such as the Champions League final featuring a pre-match concert. This year will see the Killers headline European club soccer's biggest game between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal in Budapest.
FIFA describes its halftime show as “a singular moment at the intersection of sport, culture and purpose, broadcast live around the world.”
This year's World Cup is co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico and runs through June and July.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates with the trophy in front of the fans after winning the World Cup final soccer match between Argentina and France at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, FIle)
FILE - Colombian singer Shakira rehearses a day ahead of her free concert on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, on May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado, File)
FILE - FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during the match schedule reveal for the 2026 soccer World Cup in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)
Just days after English soccer had what many said was its most controversial VAR call, Scotland said: Hold my beer.
Two league title races on a knife edge, two hugely consequential refereeing decisions that provoked equal amounts of anger, confusion and conspiracy theories.
Also delight for Celtic, which benefited from the disputed call Wednesday just as Arsenal did Sunday.
“It’s actually quite disgusting,” said Derek McInnes, coach of Scottish Premiership leader Hearts after seeing the handball incident that gave Celtic a last-minute penalty in a 3-2 win at Motherwell.
“It’s such a bad decision,” said McInnes, who takes his Hearts team to Celtic for a final showdown Saturday with a one-point lead in the standings.
That lead could — and most in Scotland seemed to believe should — be three points.
Wednesday evening in Scotland was the second-last round of games in a title race for the ages.
Unheralded Hearts has led the league for months trying to bring the trophy back to the club after a 66-year wait.
Hearts easily beat Falkirk 3-0 at the same time as Celtic's back-and-forth drama at Motherwell. A tense split-screen evening got clearer focus in the closing minutes.
Motherwell leveled at 2-2 in the 85th minute at Fir Park, just before Hearts got its third in the 86th at a Tynecastle Park pulsating with the noise of 19,000 raucous fans.
If those results stood, Hearts would go to Celtic able to lose by two clear goals Saturday and still win the title on the tiebreaker of goal difference.
Then, Celtic had a throw-in near the Motherwell penalty area in the last of four minutes of stoppage time.
The throw-in was launched long and Celtic’s United States defender Auston Trusty jumped for a header with Motherwell’s Sam Nicholson.
Trusty’s shoulder seemed to lift Nicholson’s arm upward, pushing his hand toward his face. The ball was cleared high and about 20 meters (yards), apparently from Nicholson’s header. No foul was spotted by the referee.
Trusty went down as if struck in the head and referee John Beaton eventually went to his pitchside monitor for a video review.
The main camera angle did not seem conclusive but Beaton judged a handball offense and pointed to the penalty spot.
With the last kick, in the 99th minute, Celtic forward Kelechi Iheanacho scored. Hearts fans who stayed on at Tynecastle watched their phone screens in dismay.
Celtic will now clinch its 14th league title in 15 years with a win by any score against Hearts, which must avoid defeat.
“It’s shocking, it’s a shame for the game,” Motherwell coach Jens Berthel Askou said. “It felt totally unreal.”
The Danish coach said Nicholson's arm was pushed and questioned if the ball ever even struck a hand. “I can’t see it no matter what angle I look at. It’s a crazy thing to be part of.”
McInnes agreed, saying: “I thought I was missing something when I was watching it.”
The Celtic view was different.
“We got a penalty which looks as if it’s pretty clear-cut,” said Martin O’Neill, the 74-year-old Celtic coaching great now on his second interim spell in a season of turmoil at the Glasgow giant.
Askou also articulated what many Scottish fans and pundits had said since a series of disputed VAR decisions at Celtic and Hearts games at the weekend.
“I think the big question is,” Askou said, “’What are we even doing here?”
Video review of on-field decisions has been a maelstrom of debate since FIFA fast-tracked it to a World Cup debut in 2018.
Still, the camera system — designed to eliminate “clear and obvious errors” by match officials — is probably most controversial in Britain. That is mostly not FIFA’s fault, but how match officials there interpret what they see.
The furor reached a Premier League peak Sunday.
Arsenal was clinging to a 1-0 lead, to stay clear of title rival Manchester City, when West Ham thought it scored from a stoppage-time corner to earn a point in its own fight against relegation.
It stemmed from a melee of jumping, pushing, tugging bodies in the goalmouth seen at corners in most Arsenal games this season, and branded “wrestlemania” by some media.
After an unusually long video review, the match officials disallowed the goal for a foul on Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya. It was among at least five fouls committed by both teams as the ball arrived from the corner. Still images of the messy tangle were almost comical.
Had the West Ham goal stood, City would now be top of the Premier League with two rounds left after a 3-0 win Wednesday over Crystal Palace.
Arsenal and Celtic are favored to win titles in the next 10 days. The debate will surely rage in Britain for many years.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Heart of Midlothian unfurl a large banner ahead the Scottish Premiership soccer match between Heart of Midlothian and Falkirk, Wednesday, May 13, 2026, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)
Celtic's Kelechi Iheanacho celebrates scoring their side's third goal from a penalty during the Scottish Premiership soccer match between Motherwell and Celtic, Wednesday, May 13, 2026, in Motherwell, Scotland. (Robert Perry/PA via AP)
Heart of Midlothian's Frankie Kent, left, celebrates scoring their first goal of the game during the Scottish Premiership soccer match between Heart of Midlothian and Falkirk, Wednesday, May 13, 2026, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)
Heart of Midlothian manager Derek McInnes acknowledges the fans following the Scottish Premiership soccer match between Heart of Midlothian and Falkirk, Wednesday, May 13, 2026, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)
Motherwell's Sam Nicholson fouls Celtic's Auston Trusty, left, in the box resulting in a penalty being awarded to Celtic during the Scottish Premiership soccer match between Motherwell and Celtic, Wednesday, May 13, 2026, in Motherwell, Scotland. (Robert Perry/PA via AP)
