New Delhi, June 13 -- Michael Buble walked out in front of the Sole Power Choir, leaned into a rendition of Sam Cooke's "Bring It On Home to Me," and for a few minutes Canada's World Cup looked less like a sporting event than a homecoming concert. The football would come ninety minutes later. First the country wanted to introduce itself.

musicians. Alessia Cara opened the show with more than two dozen dancers waving flags and hoisting art pieces shaped like Canadian wildlife. Alanis Morissette, in a red embellished jacket, sang "O Canada." The lineup ran through Jessie Reyez, William Prince and a clutch of global names, a deliberate spread of the homegrown and the international.

The most modern moment belonged to the tournament's own so...