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Shakira Lights Up the First World Cup Final Halftime Show — Watch Dai Dai at MetLife

Shakira and Burna Boy perform Dai Dai in the first FIFA World Cup final halftime show at MetLife Stadium — full lineup, setlist notes, and YouTube videos to watch now.

By Elena Vance
July 19, 20263 min read
Shakira Dai Dai — World Cup 2026 official song artwork / performance still
Shakira Dai Dai — World Cup 2026 official song artwork / performance still

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey — Between Spain and Argentina, MetLife Stadium (New York New Jersey Stadium for the tournament) staged something FIFA had never put on a World Cup final before: a full halftime show. At the centre of the noise was Shakira, delivering the official 2026 anthem Dai Dai with Nigerian star Burna Boy.

The production — billed as the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Final Halftime Show — was curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin and produced by Global Citizen with Live Nation and Done + Dusted. FIFA’s co-headliners: Madonna, Shakira, Justin Bieber and BTS, with Burna Boy, conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the PS22 Chorus featuring Coldplay in the wider cast. In the United States the final, including the show, rode FOX and Telemundo; other markets followed local rights holders.

Watch Shakira’s halftime moment

Missed the TV window? Start here — a widely shared cut of the final halftime package featuring Shakira’s slot alongside the night’s other headliners:

World Cup 2026 Final Halftime Show — Shakira with BTS and Justin Bieber (YouTube cut) — Watch on YouTube

What Shakira sang — and why it mattered

Shakira’s number turned on Dai Dai, the official World Cup 2026 song she recorded with Burna Boy. On the pitch she worked the yellow-clad dance crew and the crowd-participation energy she had seeded for weeks, inviting fans — and Uganda’s viral Ghetto Kids troupe — into the choreography.

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It was not the song’s tournament debut. Shakira and Burna Boy had already opened the World Cup with Dai Dai at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. For the final she wanted a distinct beat from that opening set, while keeping the education mission of the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund in frame — the social spine of the entire show.

Official Dai Dai video

For the studio cut, use Shakira’s official VEVO upload:

Shakira, Burna Boy — Dai Dai (Official Video) — Watch on YouTube

Full final halftime show replay

Want the longer run of the interval entertainment from the Spain vs Argentina final? This YouTube upload packages the Final Halftime Show as broadcast in some markets:

Final Halftime Show — FIFA World Cup 2026 Final, Spain vs Argentina — Watch on YouTube

Setlist sketch and timing

Post-show sports and music desks described an ~11-minute medley rather than full-length songs. Reported sequence included Madonna’s Music, Seven Nation Army with The Muppets, PS22 Chorus and Gustavo Dudamel, BTS’s Dynamite, Justin Bieber’s EVERYTHING HALLELUJAH, then Dai Dai from Shakira and Burna Boy.

Kickoff was set for 3:00 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, 19 July 2026. The halftime show was expected around 3:45 p.m. ET, depending on first-half stoppage. FIFA and Global Citizen framed the musical block at roughly 11 minutes inside a break that could stretch for stage moves — longer than a standard football interval, closer to the spectacle model fans know from American big-game entertainment.

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Shakira’s World Cup timeline

MetLife closes a long FIFA arc for Shakira: Berlin closing ceremony in 2006, the global anthem Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) in 2010, and now Dai Dai across both the 2026 opening and final. Few pop careers get two decades of World Cup stage time — fewer still get to write the song and sing it on the night a champion is crowned.

Search interest spiked worldwide around Shakira and the final interval as Spain met Argentina. For readers who only need the music: the three YouTube players above cover the halftime cut, the official video, and a fuller Final Halftime Show replay.

Sources: FIFA / FIFA Sound Final Halftime Show pages; Global Citizen press materials (lineup, ~3:45 p.m. ET window); Al Jazeera and Sporting News (show context); Gulf News and Page Six (Shakira–Dai Dai performance reports); Bolavip (setlist reporting); YouTube uploads linked above.

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