Though the Super Eagles will not be at the tournament, Nigeria has two artists on the official FIFA World Cup 2026 soundtrack - Rema on 'Goals' and Burna Boy on 'Dai Dai' alongside Shakira. The irony writes itself: While the national team’s qualifying campaign collapsed, Nigerian artists were being called to soundtrack the most-watched sporting event on the planet.

That says something about where Afrobeats stands in 2026 and about where Rema stands within it.

“Goals”, the official FIFA World Cup 2026 anthem featuring LISA, Anitta, and Rema, dropped May 21. Produced by Grammy-winner Cirkut alongside Bava, PinkSlip and Tropkillaz, the multilingual track blends Latin pop, K-pop and Afrobeats into a percussion-soaked three-minute collaboration that pulls three continents into one stadium-ready record. LISA brings the precision and charisma of one of K-pop's most recognisable solo careers. Anitta brings the multilingual fluency and rhythmic confidence of Brazil's biggest musical export. Rema brings Afrobeats - and the specific, assured energy of someone who already knows the world knows his name.

The song has drawn inevitable comparisons to Shakira's 'Waka Waka', with fans split between nostalgia for older World Cup anthems and acceptance of a new, more globally fused sound. That debate misses the point. 'Goals' was not built to be 'Waka Waka'. It was built for 2026 - for an audience that consumes music in thirty-second clips, that follows artists across three continents simultaneously, that already knows every name on the track before the video drops. 

The conversation in Nigeria has been less about the song and more about the verse. Rema opens his section with intent: "Breaking all their records, now they wan shift the goal post / Normally Remy get unlimited flow / One of one, check around the world, me no get clone / From Nigeria to Monaco." It is confident, specific and fully Rema - a man who knows exactly what he is and where he stands. The frustration from Nigerian fans was never about quality. It was about appetite. The verse was good enough to make people want more of it, which is precisely the problem and precisely the point. 

Because 'Goals' did something that a World Cup anthem rarely does for a specific artist's fanbase - it reactivated a hunger. The announcement marked another major international milestone for Rema, who has continued to establish himself as one of Africa's most successful music exports. 'Calm Down' made him a global name. The FIFA stage - performing alongside LISA and Anitta at the opening ceremony in Los Angeles on June 12, in front of the largest audience a World Cup has ever commanded, is the next chapter of that story. 

Rema said it himself: "Three continents, one track… bringing all our sounds together like this is a big moment for music on the world stage." He is right. It is a big moment. It is also, for anyone paying attention, a reminder of what a full Rema project at this level of ambition and visibility could sound like.

The World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19. 'Goals' will soundtrack stadiums, opening ceremonies, highlight reels and closing nights. And when the last whistle blows, and the trophy is lifted, the question Nigeria has already started asking will still be sitting there, unanswered.

The verse was good. Where is the rest?

IG: @sophiannadozie