Wayne Rooney's blunt verdict on soccer's first World Cup final halftime show went viral just as Polymarket and Kalshi closed out a record $5.5 billion trading run on the tournament.
Key Points:
- Wayne Rooney called the first World Cup final halftime show "crap" live on air, and the clip spread within hours.
- Kalshi traders priced the show's songs and surprise guests in advance, part of a wave that pushed World Cup betting past $5.5 billion.
- Spain's 1-0 win over Argentina settled the biggest prediction market ever recorded.
Rooney Halftime Verdict
Rooney, working as a BBC pundit at MetLife Stadium on Jul. 19, said his highlight of the show "was when it finished." "I like a lot of them artists but I thought it was crap," the 40-year-old added, telling viewers the performance "just didn't get me going." Fans quickly reacted, with many arguing the former England forward had said what most of the country was thinking.
The 11-minute spectacle, curated by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, packed in Madonna, Shakira, BTS, Justin Bieber, Burna Boy and the Muppets. FIFA stretched the usual 15-minute interval to more than 27 minutes to fit it all in.
Spain then beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time, with substitute Ferran Torres scoring in the 106th minute.
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Kalshi Halftime Markets
The performance Rooney panned had been a tradable event for weeks. Kalshi data showed Sabrina Carpenter leading the surprise-guest market at 30% on the eve of the final, with Post Malone at 24% and Swae Lee at 19%. Traders priced Shakira's "Dai Dai" at 98% to feature, a call her duet with Burna Boy confirmed on the night.
The same books gave Bieber's "Daisies" only a 14% chance, and the singer skipped it for "Everything Hallelujah." Polymarket's tournament winner contract processed $4.28 billion, Kalshi's Spain versus Argentina market drew $1.29 billion, and combined World Cup volume on the two platforms passed $5.5 billion before kickoff.
Polymarket settles trades in USDC (USDC), so most of that wave moved on crypto rails.
Trading across every World Cup contract had topped $25 billion by midweek, according to platform data. That dwarfs roughly $2 billion for the NBA Finals and $1 billion for the Super Bowl.
The numbers cap a yearlong run for Polymarket's winner market, which launched in July 2025 and grew into the largest single contract in the platform's history, ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. June alone brought close to $11 billion in monthly volume, most of it driven by World Cup trading.
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