Updated June 30, 2026 at 3:38 PM EDT
The 2026 FIFA World Cup enters its single-elimination phase on Sunday, June 28, when each nation's soccer team will need to win or go home. NPR Music's Tiny Desk series has featured musicians with ties to each of the remaining World Cup countries (with one exception that we'll get to), many of whom rarely receive this type of global spotlight. So we're taking this opportunity to introduce you to some very talented artists you wouldn't normally seek out if not for World Cup fever. We'll update this page to feature each day's matches, so come back as the tournament unfolds.
Today's Matches
Côte d'Ivoire vs. Norway
Côte d'Ivoire: Peter One
Ivory Coast folk singer Peter One and the singer-songwriter Jess Sah Bi recorded some of the country's most memorable music of the 1980s. In this Tiny Desk concert from 2023, Peter One performed songs from his album Come Back to Me.
Norway: AURORA
The Frozen 2 singer was just getting started when we hosted her at the Tiny Desk in 2015 — in fact, she hadn't released an album yet. Now with more than 16 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone, she's become one of her country's most successful pop stars.
France vs. Sweden
France: Air
Air's Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel performed songs from their landmark Moon Safari and The Virgin Suicides albums during a visit to the Tiny Desk in 2025. The pace is considerably slower than Mbappé's lightning-quick strikes, but appears just as effortless.
Sweden: Snoh Aalegra
The Iranian-Swedish draws her musical cues from Brandy and Sade, so it's no surprise that her appeal extends well beyond her home country. Her Tiny Desk, published in the early days of 2020, is closing in on 20 million views.
Mexico vs. Ecuador
Mexico: Natalia Lafourcade
The Mexican singer delves deep into her country's musical history on this Tiny Desk, recorded a few months after she released Musas: Un Homenaje al Folclore Latinoamericano en Manos de los Macorinos, Vol. 1. Its resonance has never faded, and this concert remains among the top 10 most-watched Tiny Desk concerts.
Ecuador: Rio Mira
The band Rio Mira takes its name from a river that separates Ecuador and Colombia and empties into the Pacific Ocean. In this Tiny Desk from 2019, the members of the band performed with a large marimba and drums that are unique to their corner of the world.
Teams playing on Wednesday, July 1
England vs. Democratic Republic of Congo
England: Jorja Smith
NPR Music has hosted more than 1,400 Tiny Desk concerts over the years, and all but four of them have fewer views than this 2018 game-changer from Jorja Smith. And how's this for a British bonus: that's Ezra Collective bandleader Femi Koleoso playing drums, a year before his band released its debut album.
Democratic Republic of Congo: KOKOKO!
Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, has been home to some of the most exciting bands on the planet. KOKOKO! carry on the city's trailblazing musical tradition with a blend of homemade instruments and analogue synths.
Belgium vs. Senegal
Belgium: Stromae
Belgian dance-pop superstar Stromae puts on one of the best live shows in the world, but his stage presentation is tough to strip down. His 2022 Tiny Desk concert involved more gleaming tech than we could have ever imagined when we launched the series in 2008 — veritable banks of laptops, mixers and synthesizers, with multiple producers working out of frame — but damned if every sound in this set wasn't crafted and played live on the spot.
Senegal: SUBA Trio
Seckou Keita hails from Ziguinchor, the same southwest town that Senegal striker Nicolas Jackson calls home. The double-necked kora player visited the Tiny Desk in 2023 with Cuban pianist Omar Sosa and Venezuelan percussionist Gustavo Ovalles.
United States vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
United States: Bad Bunny
The Puerto Rican star has done nothing but win so far in 2026, so who better to represent a hopeful U.S. men's national soccer team in this World Cup simulation? This Tiny Desk from Bad Bunny was recorded last year, shortly after the release of his Grammy-winning album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Dua Lipa
So, the Tiny Desk hasn't (yet) hosted an artist currently living in Bosnia or Herzegovina, but one of our most popular artists in the series does have Bosnian roots. Dua Lipa's grandmother on her mother's side is Bosnian, she told The Line of Best Fit in 2016.
Teams playing on Thursday, July 2
Spain vs. Austria
Spain: rusowsky
The next-level pop producer from Madrid may not be a household name in the U.S., but his Tiny Desk concert from last July has almost 4 million views on YouTube. His gift for melody and arrangement transcends any potential language barrier.
Austria: Leif Ove Andsnes
First things first: Leif Ove Andsnes is Norwegian. We know it, and you don't need to correct us. But aside from that inconvenient fact, this Tiny Desk could not be more Austrian. Andsnes performs the work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the composer's own home in Vienna! The two-floor, four-bedroom apartment served as Mozart central from 1784 to 1787.
Portugal vs. Croatia
Portugal: MARO
It makes sense that MARO, the Portuguese guitarist and singer-songwriter, would feel at home in our little corner of NPR headquarters given her previous visit to the Tiny Desk as a featured player and vocalist in Jacob Collier's concert.
Croatia: "Weird Al" Yankovic
We're still waiting to host a Croatian national at the Desk, but the country's roots were represented in 2010 when "Weird Al" Yankovic performed three of his original (read: non-parody) songs. The comedian's grandmother on his father's side was born in Croatia in the late 1800s.
Switzerland vs. Algeria
Switzerland: Hermanos Gutiérrez
Hermanos Gutiérrez's origin story is as intricate as the guitar-playing styles of its two members. The brothers have roots in both Switzerland and Ecuador, and the time spent in those two very distinct cultures and geographies gives their sound a tempered European coolness, coupled with a warm, playful energy.
Algeria: Souad Massi
Singer-songwriter Souad Massi was born in Algeria to a Berber (Kabyle) family and grew up in the capital city of Algiers. Her unflinching, deeply intimate songs — paired with her beautiful, cool light-beam of a voice — belie the struggles she's endured to make her own stories heard: After she released her first album, she was targeted for assassination by Islamic fundamentalists.
Teams playing on Friday, July 3
Australia vs. Egypt
Australia: Tame Impala
Tame Impala's Kevin Parker, the current king of Australian pop, surprised our team last year when he said he wanted his Tiny Desk to be "all acoustic." Three guitars and a ukulele later, we had the live debut of his soon-to-be Top 10 hit "Dracula."
Egypt: Tamino
The latest signee to indie label Dead Oceans wasn't born in Egypt, but his grandfather was the renowned Egyptian singer and actor Muharram Faoud. You can hear Tamino's North African roots in the the opening song to his 2019 Tiny Desk, "Habibi" (Arabic for "my dear").
Argentina vs. Cabo Verde
Argentina: Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso
This viral Tiny Desk (which earned our audio engineer, Josh Newell, a Grammy earlier this year) represents one of the two nations most likely to make the World Cup final (the other being France). Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso performed at NPR less than two years ago, yet have the fourth-most watched Tiny Desk concert in series history. A fitting favorite.
Cabo Verde: Elida Almeida
The archipelago nation is everyone's favorite underdog this year, and we have a deserving Tiny Desk to match. Elida Almeida is from country's largest island, Santiago, and her soul-stirring storytelling and magnetic charm is just as easy to root for.
Colombia vs. Ghana
Colombia: Karol G
The Colombian singer Karol G was the first female artist to take a Spanish-language album to the top of the Billboard charts, and this Tiny Desk was recorded in its immediate aftermath.
Ghana: Amaarae
Born in the Bronx but hailing from Accra, Ghana, Amaarae makes melting-pot music that defies boundaries. You can hear traces of Afrobeats, Brazilian funk, U.K. garage and R&B in her songs. This Tiny Desk was recorded just before the release of her acclaimed 2023 album, Fountain Baby.
Previous Matches
Canada 1, South Africa 0
South Africa: Thandiswa Mazwai
Thandiswa Mazwai is one of post-apartheid South Africa's most influential musicians. For nearly 30 years, she has championed a kind of dance music called Kwaito. The South African genre mixes a variety of rhythms and influences, including hip-hop, reggae, jazz and house music.
Canada: Daniel Caesar
Daniel Caesar is Canada's reigning songwriter of the year and has won a total of four Juno awards since his breakthrough 2017 album, Freudian. His 2018 Tiny Desk (above) is the 10th most-watched concert in the series.
Brazil vs. Japan
Japan: Fujii Kaze
An adventurous R&B singer and former YouTuber who christened the offices of Tiny Desk Concerts JAPAN back in 2024, Fujii Kaze is a consistent chart-topper whose reach has begun to extend beyond Japan — thanks in part to his first English-language album, 2025's Prema.
Brazil: Liniker e os Caramelows
A Brazilian soul star who's most recently appeared alongside Anitta, Liniker Barros draws on decades upon decades of jazz, funk and soul. On the Tiny Desk stage and elsewhere, Liniker e os Caramelows craft an intoxicating mix of torchy ballads and songs centered on lavish, constant movement.
Germany vs. Paraguay
Germany: Alice Sara Ott
German-born pianist Alice Sara Ott prides herself on a willingness to tackle canons both new and old: At the Tiny Desk in 2023, she shook up her performance of Chopin Preludes with a piece by Canadian polymath Chilly Gonzales — a feat of globetrotting worthy of the World Cup.
Paraguay: The Recycled Orchestra of Cateura
Formed in the Paraguayan landfill Cateura, the Recycled Orchestra is made up of children who play instruments constructed out of trash — like violins constructed from cans and silverware, or saxophones made of drainpipes, coins, bottle caps and other detritus. The group inspired a documentary film, spawned likeminded ensembles elsewhere and even performed alongside musicians ranging from Stevie Wonder to Metallica.
Netherlands vs. Morocco
Netherlands: Benny Sings
The Dutch singer, songwriter and producer Benny Sings has worked across genres — pop, hip-hop, jazz, soul — and alongside names both big (Rex Orange County, Mac DeMarco) and small. A Tiny Desk veteran with a devoted cult following, Sings performed in the NPR Music offices in 2016, then returned for the pandemic-era Tiny Desk (home) concerts series four years later.
Morocco: Khadija El Warzazia's Bnat el Houariyat & Esraa Warda
Bnat el Houariyat is a group of Moroccan women led by Khadija el Warzazia; together, they perform hypnotic pieces leavened by polyrhythmic percussion. They're frequently joined by New York dancer Esraa Warda, whose performances add further flair to a sound that already had plenty to go around.
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