The 42

FORMER ENGLAND INTERNATIONAL Wayne Rooney pulled no punches in his assessment of the concert which forced the half-time break in Sunday’s World Cup final to run over 27 minutes long.

Asked for his favourite part of the show headlined by Madonna, K-pop stars BTS, Justin Bieber, Shakira, and Coldplay, BBC analyst Rooney deadpanned: “When it finished.”

“I like a lot of them artists, but I thought it was crap.”

"What did you think of the World Cup final half-time show?"

Wayne Rooney: pic.twitter.com/1j6OQap9Yi

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 19, 2026

On RTÉ, Shay Given and Richie Sadlier pointed out how “wrong” it was for the rules of the game, which state that the half-time break should not exceed 15 minutes, to be ignored.

Their fellow pundit Kevin Doyle was less aggrieved about the idea of the show but similar to Rooney, he took issue with how boring it was.

Madonna, who opened the show with her early 2000s hit single Music, was ‘driven’ to the pitch in New Jersey by legendary Brazilian duo Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.

What a front three that would be: Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Madonna.

Watch all 104 games from the #FIFAWorldCup on RTÉ pic.twitter.com/zqKMTA1OkA

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 19, 2026

Along with the performances from BTS, Bieber, Shakira, the show featured cameos from the characters of both Sesame Street and The Muppets before Coldplay closed the show with a previously-unreleased track.

BTS. Julio Cortez / AP/Alamy Julio Cortez / AP/Alamy / AP/Alamy

Justin Bieber performed Everything Hallelujah on the acoustic guitar. Abbie Parr / AP/Alamy Abbie Parr / AP/Alamy / AP/Alamy

Shakira performed Dai Dai, the official World Cup song, with Burna Boy. Matt Slocum / AP/Alamy Matt Slocum / AP/Alamy / AP/Alamy

The message displayed during the half-time show. Passion2Press / Markus Fischer/Alamy Passion2Press / Markus Fischer/Alamy / Markus Fischer/Alamy

Written by Niall Kelly and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.