These celebs are iconically obsessed with the World Cup

This year, the diehard soccer fan said he was convinced that the US will win a World Cup in his lifetime. “We have the athletes, the technology, the training, the facilities and everything to do it… but something has to click.” Besides cheering on the US, he’s been seen supporting Brazil – the team of his wife, a Brazilian model, who he said “injected” soccer into his blood.

The talent behind the iconic 2010 World Cup anthem “Waka Waka” is a massive soccer fan. She was even in a long-term relationship with Barcelona forward Gerard Pique. But this year, she split with Pique and faces eight years in prison over alleged tax fraud in Spain… so perhaps Spain's defeat wasn't too upsetting this time. Now, she's come out in support of Morocco, tweeting: "This time for Africa."

Another artist who has been involved in creating the soccer tournament’s latest theme songs, the former Fugees singer loves to comment on the games on Twitter @wyclef. This year, he's tweeted about some of this year’s World Cup upsets and applauding the "incredible ride" of the Moroccan team.

With Argentina still fighting for the win, seems like the Argentinian Pope’s prayers have been answered (for now!). The head of the Catholic Church is a huge fan, even giving a shoutout to FIFA in one of his weekly audiences, saying: “May this important event be an occasion for meeting and harmony for nations, favoring brotherhood and peace among peoples. Let's pray for peace in the world, and the end of all conflicts.”

The third South American on the list, this Brazilian model is all in for her home country. In 2014, when Brazil hosted the tournament, she was given the honor of escorting the trophy onto the pitch. This year, she too split from her athlete husband, the American football star Tom Brady.

Did you know the world’s best tennis player almost played soccer instead? His uncle was a professional player, and he’s a diehard fan of Real Madrid. He confessed he cried like a baby when Spain won the World Cup in 2010 and has been full of great commentary this year.

A standout World Cup fan, in 2014 Rihanna was THE pundit to watch on the game. Glued to almost every match, she was known for live-tweeting her clever commentary to her millions of followers. That year, she even got to meet her hero
Pelé, and in the heat of the match between Germany and Argentina, she even flashed the stadium to reveal a skimpy leather bra.

In 2018, the Oscar-Winning actress tweeted that she had come down with a serious case of World Cup Fever. She couldn’t get over how nervous France vs. Croatia was making her and came out as an England fan. She also applauded Japan and Senegal fans for helping clean up the stadium.

The Colombian artist Maluma was behind the 2022 World Cup anthem. But this year’s event has not gone without serious controversy due to corruption allegations and human rights abuses in Qatar. When being grilled on why he performed while other celebrities like Shakira and Dua Lipa dropped out, he walked out on a live TV interview with Israel’s KAN. Maluma called the journalist “rude” and said the human rights situation was something he couldn’t resolve. “I just came here to enjoy life, enjoy soccer and the party of soccer,” he said.

The heir apparent to the British throne said this year he would be wearing a Wales bucket hat during the game against the US. He also said he is cheering for team England. Lucky for the kingdom, his two teams never had to face off, and he didn’t have to choose a side!

The billionaire turned heavily criticized Twitter owner is counting on the World Cup to breathe some life into his chaotic social media platform. As the tournament kicked off, he said World Cup traffic hit almost 20,000 tweets per second. Hopefully, his platform, which has experienced mass layoffs and resignations won’t give out during a final match.

Another England supporter, at least in 2018 when the British team came in fourth. That year, JT even had to push back one of his concerts so that both he and his fans could finish watching a game before singing “Cry Me a River” in unison.

This Colombian bombshell is another Latin American fan of the global tournament. Although her home team didn't make the cut this year, she told TMZ she was "very excited" about the US team's performance. Then, well, the Netherlands overcame the US and kicked them out too.

This year, he said he rejected $1 million to perform at the Qatar World Cup over human rights abuses. He also said Iran’s team should be out for supplying arms to Russia. But the iconic singer is still a massive soccer fan, even owning and playing on the amateur Los Angeles Exiles team during the late 1980s. In this pic, he's seen hanging with the legendary Brazilian player Pelé.

Sir Mick Jagger is such a fan that when he was on tour in 2018 he made sure that none of the concert dates coincided with match days. He was also planning a blowout bash if the UK won that year... which they didn't. Maybe the 79-year-old will get his victory party this year.

A diehard fan who sadly passed away. The basketball player was a huge World Cup fan, cheering for Italy, the country where he grew up. In 2010, he even traveled to South Africa to see the tournament. “AC Milan was always my favorite team growing up," Bryant told CNN about his experience with soccer. “It actually started in Italy when I used to go to the basketball courts to play by myself and you used to have the little goalposts underneath the basket. I'd show up wanting to play basketball and there would be 12 kids waiting to have a match. They just put me in goal because I had these long arms and long legs, and I just had to stop everything that came my way.”