World Cup fans fume over Jennifer Hudson's US national anthem performance at the final... a fortnight after team got knocked out

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 14:49 EDT, 19 July 2026 | Updated: 15:33 EDT, 19 July 2026 Jennifer Hudson wowed the World Cup final crowd with a rousing rendition of the American national anthem... but there was anger from viewers over why she was allowed to perform it in the first place.The singer - who is an EGOT having scooped an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award in her remarkable career - took to the stage ahead of the action between Argentina and Spain at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.And there was some backlash from fans as to why the Star-Spangled Banner was performed, given the United States was dumped out of the tournament almost a fortnight ago. The US made it to the last-16 of the tournament, where they lost in embarrassing fashion to Belgium, and in every other game only the anthems of the two teams on the pitch have been performed before kickoff.On X, one fan wrote: 'Someone explain to me like I’m 5 why the American national anthem is being sung at the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, when Mexico and Canada were also the hosts?'Another added: 'Why’s the American anthem being sang?? Last time I checked Belgium knocked America out??'Jennifer Hudson performs the Star-Spangled Banner ahead of the World Cup final at MetLifeBut regardless of the national team's failures on the pitch, Hudson herself was widely praised for the emotional performance, which left many at home misty-eyed.She was an impressive booking from FIFA, given her A-list career as an actress, singer and daytime TV presenter. In fact, TIME have previously named her among the 100 most influential people in the world.Her vocals were a far cry from the pregame 'closing ceremony' performances, in which the likes of IShowSpeed were panned by fans for their apparent lip-syncing on the World Cup final stage.Post Malone and Swae Lee also performed ahead of the game, before the controversial halftime show will feature the likes of Madonna, Shakira and Justin Bieber.For her performance, Hudson wore an all-white suit, with red, white and blue America-themed stitching down the back. She stood on a plinth in the middle of the field, with a series of flags blowing in the wind behind her.On social media, fans praised the impressive vocals she showed off in front of more than a billion fans watching around the world.'If the goal was to hit a high note and a high score, she just nailed both,' one said, while another fan added: 'Such a beautiful voice!'A third wrote: 'A powerful performance to set the stage for football's biggest night.'