Soccer
Ted Lasso Delivers Inspirational Messages USMNT to Players Ahead of World Cup
There have been some great American soccer coaches throughout history. United States Men’s National Team and MLS greats like Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley come to mind, as do current USMNT leader Gregg Berhalter and Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch. However, as the U.S. team heads to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, each player (and Berhalter) received a special message — in the form of a billboard in their hometown — from the greatest (and most entertaining) American soccer manager of all time: AFC Richmond’s Ted Lasso.
‘Ted Lasso’ delivered encouraging messages to USMNT players on the eve of 2022 World Cup
RELATED: Biggest Snubs, Shocks, and Superb Selections From the Official 2022 USMNT World Cup Roster
Ted Lasso, the fictional character played by Jason Sudeikis on Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso series, is a fish-out-of-water American football coach who gets a job coaching (the other) football for the fictional English Premier League club, AFC Richmond.
In the show, Lasso brings megawatt Midwestern positivity and outside-the-box American sports thinking to his Bad News Bears-esque team to help encourage The Greyhounds to victory.
As the actual World Cup approaches, the brains behind Ted Lasso combined the feel-good messages from Coach Lasso in the show with some good, old-fashioned marketing and created funny and inspiring billboards for the USMNT players and coaches headed to Qatar.
With the USMNT’s World Cup opener vs. Wales just days away, yellow billboards with handwritten-looking font are popping up in USMNT players’ hometowns. The messages on the billboards combine the sweetness, inspiration, and humor the show is known for.
For example, on goalkeeper Matt Turner’s high school, there’s a message that talks about the Arsenal player finding his true passion, soccer, as a “Tiny Tiny Turner.” In San Diego, the fictional coach wishes midfielder Luca del Torre the “Best of Luca” in the upcoming tournament and sends his “Best Greggards” to Gregg Berhalter in Chicago.
Users on Twitter also shared pics of the banner on winger Christian Roldan’s alma mater, El Rancho High School, and, in Seattle, Washington, the billboard that says “Hairdo your best” to the colorfully coifed full-back Deandre Yedlin.
Josh Sargent got an O’Fallon, Missouri shout-out because he’s an “O’natural” at soccer, Lasso implored Jordan Morris in Seattle to “Gimme Some Morris,” and he warned the competition to watch out for the “Tim Ream Beam.”
Time will tell whether the encouragement is enough for the USMNT to BELIEVE in themselves and go far in the World Cup. The team kicks off its 2022 tournament on Monday, November 21, at 2:00 pm ET vs. Wales, followed by a Black Friday (November 25) showdown with England and a Tuesday, November 29 tilt vs. Iran.
If the USMNT can finish in the top two of their Group B, the knockout stages begin on Saturday, December 3.
Ted Lasso is gearing up for Season 3 on Apple TV+ and is expected to return sometime in 2023.