Nicole Scherzinger is on the new version of Desire. Robbie Williams released the official FIFA anthem again ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final, this time with Scherzinger and Laura Pausini sharing the vocal line.
The timing is the point. The three performers are set to debut the live version at the closing ceremony on Sunday, with the event scheduled shortly before Spain kick off against Argentina at the New York New Jersey Stadium.
Robbie Williams and Laura Pausini first
Last July, Williams and Pausini first played Desire live together before a match between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain in MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. That earlier version kept the song as a two-voice performance, with Williams and Pausini carrying it alone.
Later in 2025, Williams returned to Desire at the FIFA World Cup 2026 final draw, this time as a duet with Scherzinger. The new release folds that pairing into the anthem’s live setup and turns a duet into a three-way performance for the closing ceremony.
From duet to three voices
The shift matters because the song has already been used in two different live formats before Sunday’s final. Williams and Pausini handled the first public run of Desire together, then Williams and Scherzinger took it into the final draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The new version makes Scherzinger part of the anthem’s main line-up rather than a separate appearance. For FIFA, that keeps Desire tied to the tournament while widening the performance around one of the sport’s biggest broadcast moments.
Sunday at New York New Jersey Stadium
Sunday’s closing ceremony is expected to be watched by around two billion people worldwide, and it arrives alongside the World Cup final’s first ever Halftime Show. That show is organized by Coldplay’s Chris Martin and will feature Justin Bieber, Madonna, Shakira, and BTS.
Williams was confirmed as FIFA’s official music ambassador last year, and Desire was described as the first ever official FIFA anthem when he and Pausini released it shortly after that. The practical read is simple: this version is no side note, but the event-facing one, and Sunday is when the expanded lineup gets its biggest test in front of the largest audience on the calendar.
