38 days. 104 video games. Hours upon hours of soccer. It’s been fairly the month and a bit…

In the long run, Spain gained the 2026 FIFA World Cup, overcoming Argentina in a 1-0 further time win on the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on 19 July.

This 12 months’s version of the match noticed various adjustments to the format, together with an enlargement to 48 groups (up from 32, although FIFA is reportedly planning to develop it once more to 64 groups in 2030).

It additionally noticed the first-ever World Cup Ultimate halftime present, with performances from Madonna, Shakira, Burna Boy and Justin Bieber.

For his section, after a short introduction by actor Jason Sudeikis, Justin Bieber took to the sphere to carry out an angelic rendition of his 2025 observe, Every little thing Hallelujah. Naturally, as a bunch of guitar nerds, our eyes went straight to the beautiful Taylor Gold Label 517e he had in his arms.

Eagle-eyed viewers may have observed that Justin Bieber is a leftie, and the Gold Label 517e is generally solely out there in a right-handed configuration.

Because it seems, the guitar he performed throughout halftime is one in all a small collection of left-handed Gold Labels made by Taylor for a handful of outstanding left-handed artists, together with Justin Bieber and Elliott Easton of the Vehicles.

Bieber’s World Cup 517e, specifically, encompasses a Taylor’s in-house-designed Claria pickup system, instead of the LR Baggs Aspect electronics.

Clearly, an artist of Justin Bieber’s stature may have his choose by way of the devices he chooses to take to the stage, however finally, for the World Cup Ultimate halftime present, he narrowed it down to 2 Gold Label choices, a customized 717e and a 517e, rehearsing with each.

“Quite a lot of coordination went into this,” Jay Parkin, Director of Artist Relations & Partnerships at Taylor, tells Guitar.com.

“When Justin was booked for the World Cup Ultimate, his guitar tech reached out by means of [backline company] Studio Instrument Leases. It’s an important instance of the relationships we’ve constructed with backline companions like SIR, CenterStaging and John Henry’s.”

Parkin explains how he retains a “small stock” of Justin Bieber’s guitars at CenterStaging, a big rehearsal and backline facility in Burbank, California.

“His tech requested two left-handed Gold Labels, and I coordinated the logistics, transport a Gold Label 517 with our Claria pickup system and a customized 717 to SIR for rehearsals. After attempting each guitars, Justin and his tech selected the usual Gold Label 517 for the halftime present.”

The World Cup Ultimate halftime present additionally noticed performances from Madonna – who was accompanied by Brazilian soccer legends Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, and Shakira and Burna Boy, who carried out their 2026 smash hit, Dai Dai.