With Mexico trailing England 2-1 and a tense atmosphere in the stands, Mexico City Stadium traded football for music for a few minutes. As soon as halftime began, Maná took the stage set up on one side of the pitch to offer a brief special performance prepared for the 2026 World Cup.
Introduced by actor Jaime Camil and boxer Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez, the band led by Fher Olvera appeared on stage to perform a rock version of ‘El Rey,’ the classic composed by José Alfredo Jiménez that over the decades has become one of the most representative anthems of Mexican music.
Before handing over to the band, Camil thanked the crowd for their support, and Canelo rallied the fans with a message of national pride: ‘Let’s not forget that I am here today so that the whole world knows how awesome we are and that everyone realizes what Mexico is. This is Mexico.’
The performance was brief and marked by a simple setup, with the band dressed in black, fire effects on stage, and fireworks in the colors of the Mexican flag toward the end. After the finale, the stage was dismantled in minutes, and the players returned to the field for the second half of the match.
On this occasion, the show had special significance. Besides accompanying one of the most anticipated matches of the round of 16, it marked the last World Cup match played in the Mexican capital. For that reason, FIFA chose one of the country’s most representative bands to headline the halftime show in front of thousands of spectators in the stadium and millions of viewers around the world.
Although Maná had already participated in the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Cup with a performance of ‘Oye mi amor’ accompanied by a display inspired by pre-Hispanic cultures, this was their first performance in a halftime show of the tournament. That opening was followed by an estimated global audience of over 1.1 billion viewers.
The performance also took place amid celebrations for the band’s 40th anniversary. Winners of four Grammy Awards and nine Latin Grammy Awards, the Mexicans continue to tour the Americas with the Vivir Sin Aire Tour, a tour that over the coming months will include performances in Bogotá, Lima, Santiago de Chile, Buenos Aires, and two dates at the GNP Seguros Stadium in Mexico City.
The anticipation surrounding the performance was not just about the music. In the days leading up to the match, Fher Olvera and Liam Gallagher engaged in an unexpected back-and-forth on social media that took the rivalry between Mexico and England off the pitch.
It all started when the Oasis singer posted a provocative prediction about the match on his X account. ‘I think we’ll beat Mexico 5-0,’ the Briton wrote, confident of a comfortable English victory.
The response was not long in coming. In a video posted on Maná’s social media, Fher appeared wrapped in the Mexican flag and responded with humor, though without hiding his disagreement. ‘The Oasis singer said Mexico is going to lose to England 5-0. Come on… no way, get real, dude. 5-0? Calm down, see you on Sunday and we’ll see how it goes,’ the musician said with a laugh.
Far from quelling the controversy, the band continued to fuel the exchange ahead of the match. Hours before the show, they shared on their Instagram stories an image from Mexico City Stadium with a ball on the grass and the phrase ‘Get real, dude,’ a nod to the message Olvera had sent to the British singer. The day before, they had also posted another story showing off an Oasis t-shirt, another reference to the exchange they had during the week.
The back-and-forth quickly went viral and turned the match into much more than a football game. Thousands of users followed the exchanges between the two artists, which fueled anticipation for both the round of 16 clash and the halftime show.
With the show over, all attention returned to the final 45 minutes that would determine which of the two teams would advance to the World Cup quarterfinals.
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che pero maná se mando la peor cagada bardear a oasis mientras mexico pierde y encima con ese himno nacionalista berreta para mi es una vendida de los yankis de mierda y su futbol de cuarta y nosotros festejando como nenas firmado el tony 2-8
jaja mira estos mejicanos barderos en vez de jugar al fulbo se suben a cantar con liam gallagher los trolos encima el rey un temon pero pa ellos es coreano ubicate guey decile a tu seleccion que corra mas y menos verso vuelvan a su pais de una vez