The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off on Thursday June 11 in Mexico City, with the host country taking on South Africa in the first match of the international soccer championship. Colombian superstar Shakira performed during the opening ceremony at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca alongside Burna Boy, as the pair debuted the official song of the 2026 World Cup, ‘Dai Dai’.However, the 49-year-old’s appearance quickly became the subject of intense online debate, with fans theorising that she had been replaced by a body double. According to The Mirror, Shakira wore a yellow outfit, white shorts, and platform sneakers, topped off with large dark sunglasses that obscured much of her face. Her signature blonde hair had also been dyed a light strawberry red colour, making her appearance noticeably different from what fans were used to.
What fans said about the ‘fake Shakira’ theories
Fans flooded X with speculation almost immediately after the performance began. “Is that Shakira? She doesn’t look like Shakira? Am I tripping?” one user wrote, while several others referred to the performer as a ‘doble’, the Spanish word for double. “Esa no es Shakira… who dat?!?!” echoed another, as one wrote in Spanish, “Don’t tell me I’m the only one who thought that was Shakira’s body double.”Others joined in with comments including, “Why at the World Cup opening did they bring in a Shakira lookalike?” and “Am I the only one who thinks that’s not Shakira? They got a double in thereee.” One skeptic added, “Real doubt. What if it’s Shakira? Something tells me it’s an impersonator.”
Shakira’s history with the World Cup
Shakira is no stranger to the World Cup stage, having performed at the global tournament in 2006, 2010 and 2014. She debuted the now iconic official anthem ‘Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)’ during the 2010 opening ceremony in South Africa, a performance that remains one of the most memorable in World Cup history.
This year’s official song ‘Dai Dai’, which means ‘come on, come on’ in Italian slang, carries a personal resonance for the singer. “I always thought that I was more fragile or weaker than what life proved me to be,” she explained of what drew her to the tune, pointing to lyrics such as “What broke you once made you strong.”“Behind every experience in life, there’s always a lesson, and we have to be grateful for all those lessons, even for the people that leave you with scars,” Shakira told PEOPLE. “Because they just make us better.”
The 2026 FIFA World Cup schedule
The tournament officially began on Thursday June 11, with Mexico facing South Africa at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The US team is set to face Paraguay at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Friday June 12, with the competition expected to draw record global viewership throughout its run.
