Robbie Williams sparked chatter on Sunday as he stepped onto the World Cup final stage in a glittering blue tracksuit for the halftime show.
Robbie performed at MetLife Stadium, just outside of New York. Spain later beat Argentina 1-0 to become world champions following an intense final.
For the halftime show, singer Robbie wore a sparkly blue tracksuit covered in diamantes for his performance. But, the outfit sparked instant reaction online.
One viewer said the look closely matched Paulie ‘Walnuts’ Gualtieri’s famous tracksuit from The Sopranos. The HBO drama aired from 1999 to 2007.
Why Robbie Williams’ World Cup look sent fans straight to The Sopranos
A post sharing a snap of Robbie captured the mood online. It read: “Robbie Williams is in his Paulie from The Sopranos era.”
Paulie served as one of Tony Soprano’s henchmen. He later became a captain in the DiMeo crime family.
Tony Sirico played Paulie. He died in 2022 after a dementia diagnosis several years earlier.
Tony Sirico was the actor who played Paulie ‘Walnuts’ Gualtieri in The Sopranos.
- He appeared across the series’ run on HBO from 1999 to 2007.
- Sirico became closely associated with the role because of Paulie’s distinctive look and mannerisms.
- He died in 2022.
- Reports at the time said he had been diagnosed with dementia several years earlier.
It seems Robbie’s shimmering tracksuit triggered a very specific TV memory for viewers.
The moment quickly became one of the night’s easiest jokes. Fans understood the reference at once.
World Cup final halftime show
Robbie took the stage alongside Laura Pausini and Nicole Scherzinger. But it wasn’t long before reaction came pouring in over Robbie’s look and his hair.
One viewer said on X: “Robbie Williams could at least have combed his hair.”
Another wrote: “They should do a Netflix doc series on who did Robbie Williams’ hair today at the WC final.”
Someone else commented: “Could somebody tell me what the hell Robbie’s hair is doing at the World Cup final?”
Meanwhile, a fourth wrote: “Robbie Williams was dressed as a gym teacher.”
A fifth quipped: “Robbie Williams turning up as Paulie Walnuts from The Sopranos was not on my score card.”
The halftime show as a whole also divided opinion. Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira and the Muppets all performed.
Football pundit Wayne Rooney joked his favourite part was “when it finished” during a chat with fellow commentator Gabby Logan.
Liam Gallagher also weighed in, writing on X: “This is like a bad trip.”
He added in another post: “It’s a good job I’ve got my spiritual socks on or that halftime entertainment could have tipped me over the edge.”
Robbie’s mortifying ‘white substance’ moment
Unfortunately, Robbie’s outfit wasn’t the only thing that sparked uproar.
Whilst commentating on live TV after the World Cup Final on Sunday night (July 19), Robbie endured an awkward moment where a strange white substance seemingly fell from his mouth and landed on his microphone.
Robbie was then seen swiftly swiping the white blob away before unintentionally wiping it onto his head.
One viewer penned on social media: “Be Robbie Williams. Accidentally spit a nicotine gum onto the microphone. Clean the microphone. Be dumb and stick it on your forehead after.”
“Poor Robbie Williams. Had a stinker on live German TV,” said another.
Now, Robbie has spoken out with a video shared to Instagram.
Filming himself in bed, he said: “I decided to apologise for the object that fell on the microphone yesterday. I was deeply unprofessional and people got worried about me. But it’s all good, because I have several others.”
He then held back laughter as he stuck out his tongue to show two mints in his mouth!
It turns out, Robbie just had a bit of a blunder with a mint. Oh dear!
