Tom Cruise and Beckhams star at 1st US World Cup game as millions stunned by Katy Perry ‘trainwreck’

Tom Cruise and the Beckhams were the stars of the show as the USA’s first World Cup game kicked off in LA with a ‘trainwreck’ opening ceremony performance from pop star Katy Perry.

More than 70,000 fans packed out SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles ahead of the USMNT opener, and many were expecting a high-energy show from the ‘California Gurls’ hitmaker.

Instead, the pop superstar performed just one song – a little-known album track from two years ago called ‘Wonder’.

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Katy Perry’s ‘trainwreck’ gig at World Cup opening ceremony

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Tom Cruise and Beckhams star at 1st US World Cup game as millions stunned by Katy Perry ‘trainwreck’

02:05 BST 13 Jun 2026, updated 10:36 BST 13 Jun 2026

By BEN NAGLE, US SPORTS EDITOR and ED HOLT

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Tom Cruise and the Beckhams were the stars of the show as the USA’s first World Cup game kicked off in LA with a ‘trainwreck’ opening ceremony performance from pop star Katy Perry.

More than 70,000 fans packed out SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles ahead of the USMNT opener, and many were expecting a high-energy show from the ‘California Gurls’ hitmaker.

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Instead, the pop superstar performed just one song – a little-known album track from two years ago called ‘Wonder’.

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Instead of belting out her hits – such as ‘I Kissed A Girl’ and ‘Firework’ – fans were left wanting more as she sang one song ten minutes before the game and then quickly departed the stage.

Perry was joined by ten-year-old Tius Luka for the performance, and he received plaudits for his incredible vocals from those watching at home.

The Norwegian boy has gained popularity in recent months for his viral covers of classic songs, and he will likely go down as the star of the show.

Watching the opening ceremony from the stand were a number of celebrities including American action man Tom Cruise who was spotted rubbing shoulders with the Beckhams.

Posh and Becks hot-footed it to the stadium from the Hollywood Walk of Fame where Sir David had become the latest celebrity to receive a star on the walkway.

He was supported by children Romeo, Cruz and Harper, but Brooklyn wasn’t in attendance, despite the unveiling taking place about 20 minutes from the Beckhams’ estranged son’s multimillion-dollar mansion in the Trousdale Estate.

At the match, David and Victoria were joined by son Romeo, and his girlfriend model and DJ Kim Turnbull.

Cruise also joined the Beckhams alongside their long-term friend Eva Longoria.

The USA went on to success in their opening match, thrashing Paraguay 4-1.

After the match, the Beckhams were joined by two of their other children, Cruz and Harper, before going to dinner in Beverly Hills.

On X, though, fans rounded on Perry over the opening ceremony, with one noting: ‘What a train wreck of a performance. She sounded terrible.’

Another added ‘hilarious dress’, with some joking she was returning to her astronaut days by dressing up like a spaceship.

One fan wrote: ‘This sucks’, and another claimed: ‘Get this s*** out of here.’

Gates had opened at 2pm EST in Inglewood, and fans lined up for hours to take their spot inside the arena, which is usually home to the NFL’s Rams and Chargers.

The SoFi opening ceremony was the third of three at the World Cup, after each host country put on a show immediately before its first game

Friday night’s Mexico game at the Azteca saw J Balvin make headlines, before Michael Buble led the way in Toronto ahead of Canada’s 1-1 draw with Bosnia.

Don’t know and don’t care

In LA, Future, Anitta, LISA, Rema and Tyla had earlier performed a much more high-energy show during part one of the pregame, which began around 90 minutes before the match.

The first performance then ended and the stage was dismantled, leading to a social media meltdown with fans concerned that Perry had pulled out of the show at late notice.

But she did eventually take to the stage after the players had warmed up, finally performing around ten minutes before the scheduled kickoff time.

The last World Cup opening ceremony in America, back in 1994, went down in history for a series of infamous moments, including Diana Ross’s penalty miss and president Bill Clinton’s attendance.

On Friday night, though, there were no gaffes and certainly no President Donald Trump in the building… just a simple ballad from Perry and her young companion.

When Katy Perry was announced as the opening ceremony headliner ahead of the tournament, the decision raised eyebrows – in part due to the nationality of her politician boyfriend Justin Trudeau.

Perry and Canadian Trudeau – the former prime minister of his country – were first linked back in July 2025 after being spotted walking together in a park in Montreal.

Their romance has since gone from strength to strength, and they were spotted embracing on the singer’s yacht in Santa Barbara in early October.

They officially confirmed their relationship in December by sharing photos together on the politician’s visit to Japan, with one fan referring to the post as the ‘craziest hard launch in the history of the free world.’

Friday night’s World Cup game at SoFi, meanwhile, was the fourth of the tournament, after some blockbuster openers north and south of the border.

Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 in the first game of the tournament in Mexico City, before South Korea came from behind to down Czechia 2-1 in Guadalajara.

Earlier on Friday, Canada snatched a 1-1 draw against Bosnia in Toronto, before attention turned to LA for the USMNT’s highly anticipated group match against Paraguay.

Mauricio Pochettino’s team will now face their attention to Australia before moving on to face Turkey.