Katy Perry represented for all the California Gurls on Friday night (June 12) when she headlined the 2026 FIFA World Cup USA Opening Ceremony at Inglewood’s Los Angeles Stadium (typically SoFi Stadium) alongside the global lineup of LISA, Anitta, Tyla, Rema, Future, Dan + Shay and Purahei Soul.
Future and Tyla got things started 90 minutes before kick-off by performing their 2026 World Cup song “Game Time.” LISA, Anitta and Rema were up next with another cut from the official World Cup album, “Goals.” After a little more than an hour break, Katy Perry hit the field with 10-year-old Norwegian singer Tius Luka for her 2024 song “Wonder,” surrounded by the flags of every country in the World Cup this year. Finally, Purahei Soul performed the Paraguayan national anthem while country duo Dan + Shay performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the game got its start.
The U.S. Men’s National Team played against Paraguay in their opening match of the World Cup, winning 4-1. USA’s next game is against Australia on June 19.
The United States opening ceremony was the final of three opening ceremonies for the 2026 World Cup, starting with Shakira, Burna Boy, Maná, J Balvin, Belinda, Danny Ocean, Lila Downs, Los Ángeles Azules and Tyla performing at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca on Thursday ahead of Mexico’s opening match and then Alanis Morissette, Michael Bublé, Alessia Cara, Jessie Reyez, Nora Fatehi, Elyanna and William Prince performing at Toronto’s BMO Field ahead of Canada’s opening match.
Tyla was the only artist to play at more than one opening ceremony (U.S. and Mexico), while Shakira is also set to headline the 2026 World Cup Final halftime show alongside fellow superstars BTS and Madonna.
Below, find a recap of all the musical moments that led into Friday night’s game.
-
Katy Perry
Katy Perry was joined by Norwegian 10-year-old singer Tius Luka for the live debut of “Wonder,” from her 2024 album 143. Luka’s addition to the song drove home its theme of keeping your sense of innocence as you grow older (“One day, when we’re older/ Will we still look up in wonder?”) — a perfect message for the all-ages World Cup crowd.
-
LISA, Anitta & Rema
The trio of Thai K-pop star LISA, Brazilian funk singer Anitta and Nigerian Afrobeats hitmaker Rema truly represented the global event, coming together for their 2026 World Cup collab “Goals.” LISA hit the field first, kicking off the track’s cocky lyrics: “My body (Goals), my ‘fit (Goals), my friends (Goals), my whip (Goals).” Anitta and Rema joined the BLACKPINK star next, also dressed in all white and surrounded by dancers, as they brought the energy to a fever pitch ahead of the first USA match.
-
Future & Tyla
Future and Tyla, the first performers of the night, came out hard, performing their 2026 World Cup “Game Time.” The Atlanta rapper was up first, promising he’s “Workin’ hard through the late nights/ Twenty seconds ’til game time,” while Tyla joined him and asked “If you don’t wanna win, how can I assist you?”
-
Dan + Shay and Purahei Soul
The pair of national anthems were performed by two international duos. First up was Purahei Soul (Jennifer Hicks Enciso and Miguel Narvaez) for the Paraguayan national anthem, while Dan + Shay (Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney) took on “The Star-Spangled Banner” for the U.S. Dan + Shay’s crisp harmonies were the highlight of the anthem, with their pitch-perfect rendition including a cameo from Tom Cruise sitting with soccer legend David Beckham and his Spice Girls star wife Victoria Beckham and closing with pyrotechnics shooting up from the field.