Ahead of the United States’ World Cup opener against Paraguay on Friday, June 12, Sesame Street’s Elmo and Cookie Monster appeared on the FOX broadcast with Charissa Thompson—offering playful takes on soccer rules, snacks at SoFi Stadium, and advice for a U.S.
Elmo arrived with a big grin and an even bigger question mark about the sport itself—just hours before the United States kicked off its World Cup campaign against Paraguay.
On Friday, June 12, Sesame Street’s Elmo and Cookie Monster appeared on the FOX broadcast at Charissa Thompson’s side ahead of the U.S. men’s team’s opening match at SoFi Stadium. Thompson asked Elmo how he was feeling.
“It’s really amazing,” Elmo said. “Everybody’s been really nice and teaching us about soccer.”
Then he admitted where the confusion starts for him. “Elmo doesn’t know what offsides is,” Elmo shared. “Elmo doesn’t understand it.”
Cookie Monster, meanwhile, steered the conversation toward what he wanted to find once the teams took the field. “Me feeling snacky. Me feeling very snacky,” he said. “Me hope they have really good snacks in there. Maybe cookies.”
Thompson followed up with a practical question: what advice would the two characters give the United States as it played its first match? For Elmo, the message was simple. “Do your best,” he said.
Cookie Monster’s answer landed somewhere between encouragement and nostalgia. “Have fun and don’t crumble under pressure,” he said. “… Don’t eat the soccer ball. Maybe have an orange slice at halftime.”
There was no push to choose a winner from Elmo or Cookie Monster. Thompson didn’t ask either character to predict the outcome of the match.
The timing carried its own weight. The United States was kicked out of the 2022 World Cup in the Round of 16, and infamously didn’t qualify for the 2018 tournament.
The lighter tone didn’t stop social media from piling on in the same spirit. After Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s match ended in a 1-1 draw earlier on Friday, DoorDash posted on X, “Elmo would’ve loved that game.”
Inside the stadium chatter, the jokes still mapped neatly onto what fans and teams tend to want most on opening day: an instruction to settle in, stay steady under pressure, and—at least for Elmo and Cookie Monster—make sure you know where the line is before you worry about the next rule.
World Cup 2026 U.S. men's team Paraguay Elmo Cookie Monster Charissa Thompson SoFi Stadium offsides
Elmo playing soccer but doesn’t know offsides?? sounds about right 😂
I saw the headline and thought this was like a real rule change or something. Offsides is literally the only thing I never remember, so Elmo relatable. Also “orange slice at halftime” kinda iconic.
Wait so they’re saying Cookie Monster’s advice is don’t eat the soccer ball… but like isn’t that just what he always does? Also SoFi snacks?? I’m more worried about whether the US team is actually good at defending offsides than Sesame Street.
DoorDash posted “Elmo would’ve loved that game” ??? Elmo wouldn’t even know the score if he’s confused about offsides. Idk this feels like FOX doing ad stuff before the match. I mean I get it’s cute, but can we talk about why they always get kicked out… unless Paraguay is gonna get distracted by cookies or something.