"Broadcast blunder while focusing on her looks"... Camera misses decisive moment while showing 'World Cup goddess' Shakira

[Financial News] During a 2026 FIFA World Cup match, broadcasters caused an unusual on-air blunder by focusing on pop star Shakira's appearance and missing a crucial in-play moment, drawing intense attention from soccer fans around the world.
Around the 40th minute of the France-Morocco quarterfinal held on the 10th at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the broadcast camera caught Shakira watching from a VIP suite after play was briefly stopped.
The problem was that even after the match quickly resumed, the broadcast did not switch away for a long time. The camera remained on Shakira's face, and in the meantime, Morocco's Brahim Diaz made a sharp run while France's Jules Kounde made a dramatic clearance. A major mishap followed as a decisive match sequence was completely left out of the live broadcast.
FOX lead commentator John Strong, the main announcer for the U.S. official broadcaster, could not hide his surprise during the live telecast, saying, "The game is already underway, but it seems the production team did not realize for a while that the ball was moving."
British outlet The Sun and other foreign media also reported the incident in unison, highlighting the overwhelming presence of the 'World Cup goddess' who even seemed to stop the flow of the match.
France advanced to the semifinals with a 2-0 win over Morocco, powered by a one-man show from Kylian Mbappé, who delivered one goal and one assist.
Meanwhile, Shakira is the only artist to have both opened and closed this North American World Cup. She delivered an opening performance that captivated more than 87,000 spectators at the opening ceremony held on June 11 at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. She is now set to appear as a co-headliner for the first official halftime show in World Cup history at the final, scheduled for 4 a.m. on the 20th Korea time at MetLife Stadium in New York.
With this, Shakira will have taken part in official World Cup projects four times in total, following Germany in 2006, South Africa in 2010 and Brazil in 2014, as well as this 2026 tournament. That marks the most appearances by any artist in World Cup history.

[email protected] Moon Young-jin Reporter