Shakira’s hips really don’t lie with the Colombian pop star’s latest World Cup appearance at 49, and Norway’s striker Erling Haaland unintentionally becoming popular even for non-football fans.
This year’s World Cup was held in Mexico, Canada, and the United States, and living up to its propensity for pomp and display, a Super Bowl halftime-inspired show was introduced for the very first time with the likes of Madonna, Shakira, BTS and Justin Bieber lumped up in one continuous production featuring football stars Ronaldo and Ronaldinho in 30 minutes.
The star-studded show received mixed reactions – first-time viewers, especially BTS fans, were delighted, while longtime World Cup fans worried that it would stop the momentum of players going into the second half of the 90-minute regulation time.
Even football legend and former England captain Wayne Rooney had a say about the halftime show, stressing that he liked the featured artists, but thought of it as ‘crap.’
The halftime show is just one of the initiatives introduced this year, with hydration breaks also introduced in the edition jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Even then, this World Cup, which occurs every four years, has produced a number of memorable and meme-able personalities that are enough to tide over for the next edition of the quadriennial sporting event that will be hosted next by Spain, Morocco and Portugal in 2030.
Ageless Shakira
World Cup fans know every Shakira songs dedicated for the world’s most popular sport.
Shakira wowed fans when she sang her latest World Cup song ‘Dai Dai’ with Burna Boy and the Ugandan dance group Triplets Ghetto Kids during the closing ceremony. At 49, she showed that her dancing prowess still bests those 20 years younger than her.
There is also a running joke among fans that she has outlasted her ex, former Spain player Gerard Pique, in the number of World Cup appearances. Pique played for Spain in 2010, 2014 and 2018, while Shakira has been appearing in the world’s most popular sport for two decades.
Shakira sang ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ with Wyclef Jean in the 2006 closing ceremony in Germany.
She returned in 2010 to record the edition’s anthem ‘Waka Waka,’ with the tournament held in South Africa. Four years later, she recorded ‘La La La’ with Carlinhos Brown for the tournament’s 2014 edition edition hosted by Brazil.
Fan darling Erling
Erling’s goofy nature is an antithesis to his 6’5” frame. On the pitch, he turns on a beastly nature with an unnatural speed for a man his height.
He was in the running for the Golden Boot if Norway did not lose to England and Jude Bellingham, his former Bundesliga teammate, in the quarter final match.
Erling tallied 7 goals in the competition stacked with this generation’s football stars, Harry Kane, Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe, who eventually won the title with 10 goals and 4 assists. Argentine superstar Lionel Messi scored two goals at eight at what is touted to be his last World Cup appearance.
Off pitch, Erling is proving to be chronically online, engaging with fans and memes featuring him even after the tournament wrapped up with Spain clinching its second World Cup title by beating Messi’s Argentina.
It is no small wonder that Norway’s leading scorer and deadly striker has won the hearts of fans all over the world because it is rare to see a man as lethal on the pitch who does not take himself way too seriously off the grand world stage.