‘Where is Tom Cruise?’ Fans rage as IShowSpeed takes centre stage at World Cup final

By Tolulope Oke

Football fans were left baffled after YouTuber IShowSpeed took centre stage at the 2026 World Cup closing ceremony while Hollywood star Tom Cruise failed to make his anticipated appearance.

The pre-match spectacle was staged 90 minutes before Argentina and Spain contested the final at the New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday.

Cruise had been promoted as one of the ceremony’s major attractions, but it was IShowSpeed who opened the show in front of about 80,000 spectators, including United States President Donald Trump.

The streamer, who has more than 58 million YouTube subscribers, performed his original song Champions from the official 2026 World Cup album.

Dressed in an all-white suit, IShowSpeed sang amid a group of dancers wearing brightly coloured neon tracksuits.

Although he had been listed among the performers, many viewers were stunned to see the content creator singing on football’s biggest stage.

Post Malone followed with his new track, Chrome Heartbreaker, before performing his 2018 hit Wow.

The American rapper later welcomed Swae Lee to the stage for their Grammy-nominated collaboration, Sunflower.

Post Malone wore a denim outfit, cowboy hat and sunglasses, with a T-shirt bearing the message: “I just hope both teams have fun.”

The performances, however, attracted fierce criticism from viewers who described the ceremony as underwhelming, poorly produced and lacking creativity.

“Such an underwhelming closing ceremony. Zero creativity, just artists singing,” one viewer wrote on X.

Another complained: “The lip-syncing for these closing ceremony performances is horrific.”

“IShowSpeed was so random,” a third fan wrote, while another described the spectacle as the “worst closing ceremony” and “obviously low budget.”

Much of the confusion centred on Cruise, who had been expected to headline the event but had still not appeared half an hour before kick-off.

“WHERE THE F*** IS TOM CRUISE?” one frustrated viewer demanded.

The Mission: Impossible star was photographed arriving at the stadium earlier on Sunday, but FIFA had only described his role as a “special appearance.”

Cruise had been spotted at matches throughout the tournament and previously performed a major stunt during the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

Nicole Scherzinger, Robbie Williams and Italian singer Laura Pausini were also listed among the ceremony’s performers, while Jennifer Hudson was selected to sing the United States national anthem.

The World Cup final was also scheduled to feature the competition’s first-ever half-time show, with Madonna, Shakira and Justin Bieber among the headline acts.

The ceremony followed hours of confusion outside the stadium as thousands of supporters battled long queues, security checks and glitches affecting FIFA’s ticket-scanning system.

Fans had been advised to arrive four hours before kick-off because of the additional security measures surrounding Trump’s attendance.

Several supporters were reportedly sent to the wrong entrances, while security officials appeared uncertain about where the long queues should begin.

Tickets for the final were listed for as much as $10,000, with the cheapest available on some resale websites starting at around $7,000 on Sunday morning.