423. The Halftime Show

The 2026 World Cup Final takes place tonight at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Spain are playing Argentina. Performing the halftime show is Shakira.

Shakira dated Gerard Piqué, a Spanish footballer and member of the Spanish national team, for approximately twelve years. They separated in 2022. In January 2023, Shakira released a song about the relationship. The song has been streamed several hundred million times. Gerard Piqué retired from professional football. Shakira is now the halftime entertainment at a game in which Spain are playing.

(The selection of Shakira as halftime performer for a tournament that included a Spain-Argentina final was made in advance. Whether the bracket was known at the time of the selection is not the question being asked about it now.)

Drake bet $1.5 million on Argentina to win. This is not directly related to Shakira, though they do both involve the same match and will be resolved at approximately the same time.

Kylian Mbappé scored his 22nd World Cup goal last night, breaking Lionel Messi's all-time record. Mbappé did this in the third-place match, which France lost. Messi, who now holds the second-highest goal total in World Cup history, plays tonight.

(The third-place match is the consolation game for teams that did not reach the final. It is considered a lesser occasion. Mbappé chose it as the occasion on which to become the greatest World Cup goalscorer in history. France lost that game 6-4, which is also a record. Mbappé scored two of France's four goals. France still lost. These are both true.)

The halftime show begins after 45 minutes of play. At that point it will be possible to assess whether Drake's $1.5 million is still theoretical. Shakira will then perform. Gerard Piqué's country will be on the other side of the field. This will be noted.

The match is scheduled to begin at 20:00 Eastern time. The halftime show will include Madonna, Burna Boy, Justin Bieber, and the Ghetto Kids. This is the first halftime show in the history of the World Cup Final. The timing appears to have worked out.