{"id":355256,"date":"2026-06-30T03:33:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T03:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/355256\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T03:33:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T03:33:42","slug":"el-paso-locomotives-cristo-fernandez-joins-world-cup-2026-coin-toss-ceremony-in-la-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/355256\/","title":{"rendered":"El Paso Locomotive\u2019s Cristo Fern\u00e1ndez joins World Cup 2026 coin toss ceremony in LA"},"content":{"rendered":"

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 El Paso Locomotive soccer player and actor Cristo Fern\u00e1ndez, best known for portraying the optimistic Dani Rojas on the Emmy Award-winning series “Ted Lasso”, added another milestone to his soccer journey by serving as a Coca-Cola FIFA World Cup Coin Toss Assistant during Sunday’s FIFA World Cup 2026 match in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

The appearance marked a historic expansion of Coca-Cola’s Coin Toss Assistant program, which for the first time includes influential figures from across North America stepping onto the pitch as part of the pre-match ceremony.<\/p>\n

For Fern\u00e1ndez, the opportunity represents a full-circle moment.<\/p>\n

Long before becoming famous for his portrayal of the endlessly enthusiastic Dani Rojas \u2014 whose catchphrase “Football is life” became a fan favorite around the world \u2014 Fern\u00e1ndez was pursuing a professional soccer career in his native Mexico. He joined Guadalajara’s Tecos academy at age 15 before a knee injury ended his playing career.<\/p>\n

Years later, acting brought him international recognition, but his dream of returning to professional soccer never faded.<\/p>\n

RECOMMENDED: El Paso County to declare June 11\u2013July 19, 2026, as ‘World Cup Season’<\/a><\/p>\n

That dream became reality in May 2026 when Fern\u00e1ndez signed a professional contract with the USL Championship’s El Paso Locomotive FC, officially returning to the sport and mirroring the fictional character that made him a household name.<\/p>\n

“F\u00fatbol has taken me from Guadalajara to places I never imagined and introduced me to incredible people along the way,” Fern\u00e1ndez said in a statement. “Being part of a moment as special as the FIFA World Cup 26\u2122 feels like a dream come true.”<\/p>\n

He added that returning to professional soccer reminded him “that the biggest rewards often come from taking the biggest chances.”<\/p>\n

“The passion, joy, and sense of community that f\u00fatbol creates are unlike anything else, and I’m grateful to celebrate the game with Coca-Cola and fans from around the world,” Fern\u00e1ndez said. “Porque al final del d\u00eda, f\u00fatbol es vida.”<\/p>\n

The Coca-Cola FIFA World Cup Coin Toss Assistant program features prominent athletes, entertainers and public figures participating in pre-match ceremonies throughout the tournament. Fern\u00e1ndez served as the Coin Toss Assistant during the June 28 match in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

He joins a growing list of notable participants, including Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga, Canadian soccer legend Christine Sinclair, singer Ciara, Olympic gold medalist Jon Montgomery, actress Uzo Aduba, actress and producer Issa Rae, and television personality Carmen Villalobos.<\/p>\n

Sign up<\/a> to receive the top interesting stories from in and around our community once daily in your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 El Paso Locomotive soccer player and actor Cristo Fern\u00e1ndez, best known for portraying…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":355194,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139],"class_list":["post-355256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}