Jason Sudeikis welcomed world to FIFA World Cup 2026 before USMNT’s dominant win
“Ted Lasso” star Jason Sudeikis helped the United States welcome the world to the FIFA World Cup matches in Los Angeles on Friday before the U.S. men’s team won its first match.
Sudeikis, who grew up in Overland Park, stood on the field of SoFi Stadium — known as Los Angeles Stadium during the tournament — and introduced the flags of the 48 nations playing in the tournament.
Noting that three nations — the United States, Mexico and Canada — are hosting matches, Sudeikis told the 70,000 fans that “if there’s one thing we know, it’s that when we come together, something special happens.”
In a stadium full of soccer fans and Hollywood celebrities, including Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Jamie Foxx and Owen Wilson, Sudeikis was a fitting choice to participate in the opening ceremony. For three seasons as Ted Lasso, he has played a duck-out-of-water American football coach leading a European soccer team.
In season 4 of the hit Apple TV+ series, which debuts August 5, Lasso returns to England from his home state of Kansas to coach women’s soccer. The first episode was filmed in the Kansas City area last summer.
His appearance in Los Angeles suggests that we will see the passionate fan of Kansas City sports teams at matches here, too, possibly with some of his fellow Big Slick fundraiser co-hosts: Eric Stonestreet, Heidi Gardner, Paul Rudd, Rob Riggle and David Koechner.
Sudeikis also stars in Visa’s global “Tap In” advertising campaign for the World Cup.
Gardner has shared her personal guide to Kansas City with the Wall Street Journal.
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