Once again, Gianni Infantino’s FIFA lied. The halftime show was extended, from the referee’s whistle at the end of the first half until the players returned to the field, a total of 27 minutes and 20 seconds, quite a bit longer than the 17 minutes promised by the organization. As many feared, the break lasted almost half an hour. Undoubtedly, the longest halftime in history.
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The inclusion of this show, a copy of the famous Super Bowl halftime, had received numerous criticisms from experts, coaches, and players because such a long pause could distort the game. “It is what it is,” responded the resigned Spanish coach, Luis de la Fuente, when asked about this novelty last Friday. “Maybe in a few years we will find it normal, like hydration breaks,” he insisted.
The worst predictions were confirmed. Official announcements said the show would start five minutes into the break. There it was already delayed by two and a half minutes.
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But the delay kept accumulating and the players returned to play, which is what this is about, almost half an hour later, after the passage on the grass of The Muppets, Madonna (escorted by Ronaldo and Ronaldinho), Gustavo Dudamel conducting, BTS, Justin Bieber, Shakira and her Dai Dai, capped off by the PS22 chorus, a public school in the New York City borough of Staten Island.
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