BTS and IShowSpeed met each other in the hallway at the 2026 FIFA World Cup final and the video is pure glee with added backflip.
The South Korean superstars performed in the first ever World Cup halftime show on Sunday, during the final match between victors Spain and runners up Argentina. In a delightful exchange on the day, BTS members RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook ran into the YouTube megastar (and Mashable 101 alumnus) in the halls of MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
In a video posted to Instagram by IShowSpeed, it's hard to tell who is fanning out harder.
Speed's backflip? So casual. And there's a lot of "big fan" comments exchanged all round. It's extremely sweet.
During the World Cup halftime show, BTS performed their 2020 Grammy nominated, chart-topping, YouTube-smashing single "Dynamite," the group's first number one in America. In a performance curated by Coldplay's Chris Martin and Global Citizen, BTS shared the lineup with Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira, Burna Boy, the Muppets, and more, including appearances from football legends Ronaldo and Ronaldinho and Ted Lasso's Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt in character.
BTS will perform again at the MetLife Stadium in a few weeks' time, returning to the U.S. for more dates on their ARIRANG World Tour.
It's been a major World Cup for Speed (aka Darren Watkins Jr.) as he's become one of the biggest U.S. names during the tournament off the field. The 21-year-old football-loving creator has been livestreaming matches to his millions of followers through his official partnership with FIFA, YouTube and Fox Sports.
Speed also hosted the inaugural YouTube FIFA Creator Cup, a creator-led exhibition match in New York City's Central Park, last Sunday. Mashable chatted to the host at the event, with Culture Editor Crystal Bell specifically asking him to build a dream World Cup squad from One Piece characters.
Early in the tournament, the streamer went viral for not recognising New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sitting right beside him in MetLife Stadium, during the first World Cup 2026 game between Brazil and Morocco. However, in more serious news, FIFA investigated after alleged racist abuse aimed at Speed was captured in one of his YouTube livestreams for the World Cup.
Sweet moments of wholesome fandom between superstars, after all that, are pure gold.
If you missed the World Cup halftime show, you can watch it on Mashable.
Topics Celebrities Creators
Shannon Connellan is Mashable's Senior Editor, General Assignments, based in London. She has been Mashable's UK Editor (and still manages the illustrious UK team) and Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives searching for Exit 8. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about entertainment, tech, social good, science, culture, and Australian horror, and loves to nerd out with movie stars, filmmakers, and TV creators.
