PASADENA, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 06: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO COMMERCIAL USE, NO SPECIAL INTEREST OR SINGLE ARTIST PUBLICATION USE) Liam Gallagher of Oasis performs onstage during the Oasis Live '25 World Tour at Rose Bowl Stadium on September 06, 2025 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Liam Gallagher had a blunt review of FIFA’s first World Cup final halftime show.
The Oasis frontman reacted on X during Sunday’s (July 19) performance at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., where Madonna, BTS, Justin Bieber, Shakira, Burna Boy, Gustavo Dudamel, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, the PS22 Chorus and the Muppets appeared during the Spain-Argentina final.
He followed with another post, adding, “It’s a good job I’ve got my spiritual socks on or that halftime entertainment could have tipped me over the edge.”
The 11-and-a-half-minute show marked the first halftime performance staged during a FIFA World Cup final. Curated by Martin, the production opened with Madonna performing “Music,” her Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 from 2000, before moving through performances from BTS, Bieber, Shakira, Burna Boy and more.
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Shakira and Burna Boy performed “Dai Dai,” the official World Cup song and current Billboard Global 200 chart-topper, while BTS delivered “Dynamite” and Bieber performed an acoustic version of “Everything Hallelujah.” Dudamel also conducted musicians from the New York Philharmonic and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela through The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army.”
The show closed with the PS22 Chorus, Martin, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and several performers returning to the field for a finale built around a giant “LOVE” stage formation and fireworks.
The halftime show brought one of the most music-heavy moments in World Cup final history to the middle of the tournament’s deciding match. It also placed FIFA closer to the kind of entertainment model long associated with the Super Bowl, where pop performance is built into the broadcast spectacle.
Gallagher’s reaction comes after Oasis’ return to stadium scale with the band’s OASIS LIVE ’25 tour, which included dates across the U.K., Ireland, North America, Mexico, Asia, Australia and South America. The band’s songs have also long lived inside football culture, with tracks including “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger” becoming crowd staples far beyond rock audiences.
