When one thinks of world football’s biggest and most prestigious tournament, the FIFA World Cup, pop sensation Shakira is perhaps one of the celebrities that spring to mind the quickest.
The Colombian superstar is synonymous with World Cup-themed music. She has often released songs leading up to past editions of the tournament, which manage to perfectly capture the hype and emotion fans feel, leading to smash hits like “Waka Waka” (2010) and “La La La” (2014).
This year, she has released a track called “Dai Dai” alongside Nigerian singer-songwriter Burna Boy, which has garnered a lot of love from fans. This track has gone on to officially become a part of FIFA’s music campaign for the tournament, and the duo also performed live at the World Cup opening ceremony.
In addition to creating perhaps the hottest song of the summer, Shakira has been keeping up with the high-octane football action taking place in the Americas, and she has been spotted watching several games live in stadiums.
Ironically, according to X, none of them have involved her own country Colombia, who heartbreakingly bowed out of the World Cup after losing to Switzerland on penalties in the Round of 16.
On Thursday, she was spotted at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, looking on from the VIP section as France took on Morocco in the Quarter Finals. There, she found herself seated beside Kylian Mbappe’s father, Wilfrid.
This led to an extremely unexpected crossover that no one would have seen coming.
The pop legend is usually accompanied by her 2 sons Milan and Sasha, but chose a different companion this time around.
Instead of keeping to themselves like one would expect from two strangers seated together, the pair quickly got to know each other.
They were spotted chatting on several instances over the course of the game, often sharing similar reactions to the events transpiring on the field, as was evident by their gestures.
Kylian Mbappé’s dad talking to Shakira in the stands after she came to watch his son play against Morocco. 😂❤️ pic.twitter.com/bt2mD6HQ9K
— 10 (@Kylian) July 10, 2026
It appears the pair enjoyed each other’s company, as Shakira went on to shared a selfie alongside Wilfrid Mbappe to her Instagram story a few hours later.
Perhaps jokingly, she ended up posting the image with a filter that added an unnatural level of glow to the Wilfrid’s face.
Naturally, this makes one wonder if there is any backstory to the friendship between Shakira and Kylian Mbappe, beyond the standard mutual admiration that exists between the pair, being two of the biggest names of their respective fields.
This question was eventually answered a few hours later.
Shakira uploaded a video to her story, revealing that Kylian Mbappe was in fact the first player to accept participation when the music video for “Dai Dai” was being shot.
In the music video, which over 400 million fews on YouTube as of writing, Mbappe shares the screen with superstars such as Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Vinicius Junior, Harry Kane and Rodri.
Shakira shows love towards Kylian Mbappé via Instagram pic.twitter.com/zdWxtWI0Ih
— culture (@notgwendalupe) July 9, 2026
Much to the delight of Wilfried Mbappe, Shakira, and others cheering for Les Bleus on Thursday, Kylian Mbappe put in yet another strong performance on the biggest stage in international football.
Despite missing a penalty in the first half, the Real Madrid striker was once again the man that paved the way to victory for his country, as he broke the deadlock with a sublime curling effort in the 60th minute. France ultimately won 2-0.
Next, the 2018 World Cup winners will take on Euro 2024 champions, Spain, in the semi-finals. While Kylian Mbappe and his team will need to pass a tough test to make it to the final, Shakira’s presence at the showpiece event is already confirmed, as she is set to be one of the headliners for the first ever FIFA World Cup Final halftime show.
