Ted Lasso, Yes, The TV Show Character, Played Trevor Noah In A ‘FIFA 21’ Tournament On Twitch

Ted Lasso was the surprise hit of 2020 for many, the kind of show you didn’t quite believe your friends about when they raved that it was very good. Skepticism is part of the show’s DNA, though, and sometimes Apple TV+ shows based on commercials for NBC can actually turn into worthwhile television. Which is perhaps why watching Ted Lasso play FIFA soccer in a EA Sports tournament seems to be just as oddly compelling.

That’s right, Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt played in a FIFA 21 tournament on Twitch on Friday, but in character as Lasso and Coach Beard.

Interestingly, it’s Lasso the TV show character who is playing in the tournament, not the actor who plays him on TV. Friday’s competition saw him playing against The Daily Show host Trevor Noah in a tournament hosted by streamer Castro 1021 in the FIFA Face Off tournament, which had a $25,000 prize pool going to charity.

Heading into the tournament it was entirely unclear just how good Ted Lasso is at video game soccer, as he hasn’t exactly proven himself to have a strong knowledge of the game as a coach. The team, after all (spoilers incoming!) did get relegated under his watch, though he did show plenty of heart and a penchant for whimsical turns of phrase in the process. Oh, and lots of delicious baked goods.

In any event, the EA Sports Twitch account is where all the action took place, and if you miss it the EA Sports YouTube account will likely have a replay to enjoy at your leisure as well. There were also some highlights posted to Twitter, including Lasso teaching everyone the proper way to hold a controller.

Unfortunately for him, though, his team came up short against Trever Noah’s squad. Which meant it was the host who got to give a postgame interview to rival one of Lasso’s own.

Hopefully for Lasso, his real (fake) team fares better in Season 2 than his fake (real) team did on Friday.

[via AV Club]