Alexi Lalas Throws Harsh Criticism at Shakira’s ‘Strange’ Copa America Halftime Performance After Colombia Boss’ Remarks

Be it the FIFA World Cup or the Super Bowl, Shakira has never ceased to electrify mammoth crowds with her eccentric performances. However, her Copa America halftime performance during the Argentina-Colombia final did not live up to her reputation. Fans blasted the Colombian pop icon for using playback while performing Hips Don’t Lie and other superhits. Shakira’s feature in the final had Colombia’s coach Nestor Lorenzo worried over the match’s time extension. Now former USMNT defender Alexi Lalas has looked down on Shakira’s performance, citing poor stage arrangements.

Alexi Lalas briefly spoke about the 3x Grammy winner’s Copa halftime gig in the latest episode of the State of the Union podcast. “Couple of things were really strange for me,” said Lalas, referring to Shakira’s gig. He continued, “One, she came out alone, and it was as if almost everyone was looking around, saying ‘Where the hell are the backup dancers?’ I didn’t know if she was supposed to, but it begged for backup dancers and she was solo. Had her dancing around. It just didn’t look normal.”  

Fortunately, Lalas did not dislike everything about Shakira’s performance. He said that the singer’s “mirrory” outfit was cool as it gave a “disco” look and added charm to her performance. However, the USMNT legend was unhappy with the stage’s lighting. “My big problem, I don’t know who does their lighting. I don’t know who the production team was. But somebody needs to get fired,” said Lalas. “The lighting on her legs… She might have been wearing fishnet sort of thing. But whenever the lighting was on her legs, it made it look like she had fish scales.” 

Before Lalas’ critique, Colombia’s head coach sounded upset about not knowing about the Colombian’s performance beforehand.

Why was the Colombia boss unhappy with Shakira’s Copa America gig?

This Copa has made headlines for a number of controversies. We have seen managers and players get penalized for returning late to the pitch after the first half. A team is usually expected to be back within 15 minutes after halftime. But since Shakira was performing at the Hard Rock Stadium on the final day, the second half began 26 minutes late. Coach Nestor Lorenzo foresaw this delay and he had a bittersweet response to it. “Let’s see when the rules are changed beforehand for both teams or the field is bad for both, the rest minutes are the same for both… I can’t say it’s good, it’s bad, who it favors,” said Nestor Lorenzo.

He added, “Now it turns out that there is a show and we can go out in the 20th or 25th minute with the impact it can have on the players’ physical condition, as they can cool down. One knows the cost of those recovery minutes in the locker room.” Anyhow, we cannot say that the halftime delay has impacted Colombia negatively and Argentina beneficially. At the end of the day, Argentina could break Colombia’s dreadlock and find the net to win the Copa. He has not done it until now, but it would be outrageous for the Colombian coach to even acutely blame the halftime delay for Colombia’s loss.