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The Wire

08.06.26

The FIFA World Cup 2026 album: 8 tracks from artists we've seen live

// Annelies · 4 min read

On June 5, 2026, FIFA dropped the biggest World Cup soundtrack yet: an 18-track album built for a tournament stretched across Canada, Mexico and the United States. Afrobeats and Latin pop sit next to reggaeton, K-pop, country and rock, with the center of gravity firmly in Afrobeats and Latin.

We played it through and kept landing on the same names. Eight of these tracks are by artists we have already stood in a crowd for. Here’s the live-history cut of the FIFA World Cup 2026 album.

“Dai Dai”, Shakira and Burna Boy

Burna Boy at the Waldbühne in Berlin in August 2025
Burna Boy at the Waldbühne in Berlin in August 2025Photo · @joshua.bockk

The official song of the tournament: Afrobeats meets dance-pop and reggaeton, built on big percussion and stadium hooks, moving through English, Spanish, French, Italian and Japanese. The lyrics shout out football legends from Maradona to Messi and name-check this year’s nations.

Shakira, Shakira

This is not Shakira's first World Cup. She is the closest thing FIFA has to a house artist: she had the official song in 2010 with "Waka Waka," still the most-streamed World Cup song ever, and she has it again in 2026. In between she played the closing ceremonies in Germany in 2006 and Brazil in 2014, though the official 2014 song went to Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte.

Four tournaments, one recurring face. FIFA keeps going back to the safe global star, and pairs her with a regional voice each time: the South African band Freshlyground in 2010, the Afrobeats star Burna Boy now. "Waka Waka" is the biggest football song ever made, so you can see why they keep asking.

“Blessings”, Stormzy with Fridayy and Angel

Stormzy at Roskilde in 2025
Stormzy at Roskilde in 2025Photo · Colin Darbyshire · @colindarbyshir3

I think this is my favorite track. I like the gospel touches and a message about gratitude and keeping going. It builds as it goes.

“Game Time”, Future and Tyla

Tyla at Roskilde in 2025
Tyla at Roskilde in 2025Photo · Annelies Vollmuller · @annnlies

A hip-hop track built around brass and booming percussion, which FIFA says is a first for a World Cup soundtrack. It opens on Future’s “20 seconds to game time” and Tyla brings the melody. The two will perform it at the opening ceremony in Los Angeles on June 12.

“Goals”, LISA, Anitta and Rema

Rema at AFAS Live in Amsterdam in June 2025
Rema at AFAS Live in Amsterdam in June 2025Photo · Colin Darbyshire · @colindarbyshir3

A cross-cultural mash of Latin pop, K-pop and Afrobeats, percussion-driven, with football used as a metaphor for ambition: “I got goals, I got dreams, I got visions.” It hands the song from LISA to Anitta to a closing rap verse from Rema.

“No Place Like Home”, Major Lazer, Nelly Furtado and Davido

Nelly Furtado at Offdays Berlin in August 2025
Nelly Furtado at Offdays Berlin in August 2025Photo · Annelies Vollmuller · @annnlies

Afrobeat, pop and dance, with Major Lazer’s festival bounce under Nelly Furtado’s smoother, nostalgic vocal. The thread running through it is home, wherever the game takes you. We are so happy to hear from her because we thought she completely stopped performing.

“Three Nations”, 21 Savage, Nata Cano and French Montana

21 Savage at Roskilde in 2024
21 Savage at Roskilde in 2024Photo · Colin Darbyshire · @colindarbyshir3

Rap meets Mexican corridos, moving between English and Spanish, with French Montana setting it off on “three nations, one beat”.

“Energy”, Ava Max and BIA

Ava Max at Superbloom in Munich in 2023
Ava Max at Superbloom in Munich in 2023Photo · Annelies Vollmuller · @annnlies

An electropop rush: fast beat, sparkling keys, Ava Max on the full-throttle hook and BIA bringing the harder rap edge. A song about showing up fully and not dimming your light.

“Show Me”, Ayra Starr and Latto

Ayra Starr at Superbloom in Munich in 2022
Ayra Starr at Superbloom in Munich in 2022Photo · Colin Darbyshire · @colindarbyshir3

A bold, high-energy record pairing Ayra Starr’s Afrobeats with Latto’s rap, built for the biggest stage in sport.

The rest of the album

Ten more of the bigger names round out the 18: The Rolling Stones, Daddy Yankee and Shenseea, Jelly Roll and Carín León, Belinda with Los Ángeles Azules, IShowSpeed, Shaggy, and more.

Two of my (Annelies) personal favorites: Stormzy's "Blessings" up top, and Shaggy on "Love Always Wins" further down the tracklist.

Listen to the full playlist on Spotify

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