Rob McElhenney’s knowledge of the World Cup and soccer — or should we say, football — has come a long way.

The actor, also known as Rob Mac, describes the global competition as “the biggest tournament in the world,” in an interview with TODAY.com. “And please put an asterisk that I called it football throughout the interview, but I will call it soccer here,” he adds.

Mac, 49, “distinctly” remembers being a young kid and finding out a friend had posters of one specific soccer star, Diego Maradona. Watching the Argentine legend on television changed the way the Emmy winner saw the sport and, coincidently, his life.

These days, the “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” star’s ties to soccer include being the co-owner of the Welsh professional football club Wrexham AFC with Ryan Reynolds, and partnering with Enterprise during the 2026 World Cup.

The car company is giving away a car for every World Cup corner kick goal, starting June 11 when the tournament officially begins. Just like being a part of the biggest soccer tournament in the world is impactful, Mac says a new car “can change someone’s life.”

With over 1,000 chances for fans to win, Mac says he has “such a vested interest now in every single game.” He is also excited to see different countries and players come together for the worldwide event.

Below, Mac shares his World Cup memories, as well as what he’s most looking forward to as the tournament kicks off.

What is your earliest memory of watching a World Cup?

I was a little kid and I remember being over at a friend’s house, Tommy Reynolds, and that was a big soccer household. And they said, “You have to see this guy,” and he had posters all over his wall. Everybody else had Michael Jordan posters. I had Randall Cunningham posters, who played in the NFL. People had Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. He had Diego Maradona posters everywhere, and I didn’t know who Diego Maradona was.

The very first time I watched the World Cup was watching Diego Maradona play.

I was a little kid and I remember distinctly watching it with (my friend) and his family and people going nuts! And I thought, “Huh, I don’t know, this seems like a fun sport.” I didn’t realize I was watching one of the greatest legends in the history of the game.

The World Cup is about competition. Who has been your biggest supporter or competition in your career?

I would say my biggest supporter for the last 20 years has probably been my wife, (Kaitlin Olson).

Additionally, (Chairman of FX Networks) John Landgraf has been a huge champion and supporter of mine from the very beginning. I was in the service industry when we created “Sunny” and he entrusted me to run the television series and he’s been supporting me ever since. Even when I brought him the crazy idea of buying a football team, he bought a documentary around that and he understood.

I’d say my biggest competition has been my own insecurities, anxiety and fear, and it’s just something that I have to navigate and push through. Not pretend like it’s not there, but process it, synthesize it, try to exercise it and move on.

We’ve got so much external competition, sure. On the pitch, off the pitch, you have people who drive you competitively. But at the end of the day, no matter what, they don’t hold that much power over you. They are igniting something inside of you, they’re triggering something, whether it’s a feeling of fear or consternation, or even excitement, or anger, or rage. That’s not something that they’re really eliciting. It’s a stimulus that they’re creating. And then you’re either allowing it to take over, or you’re just observing it, processing it and moving forward.

What are you most looking forward to during the World Cup?

I’m looking forward to every single corner kick, so now I’m doubly invested because we have a few players from Wrexham that are actually playing. One for Scotland and one for New Zealand, so I’m going to be biased towards them.

I have my U.S. heritage, obviously. So U.S. I’ll be rooting for No. 1. I live in Los Angeles, and I have so many Latino friends and Mexican friends who are die-hard Mexican fans, so that’s going to be really fun. And now also watching every single match, every corner kick is an opportunity for somebody to win a car. So I’m going to be watching every single one of these games, excited for somebody.

There’s just so much pride. And to be able to represent your home country, I see it happen with our players, our international players. It is such an honor and a joy for them to stop everything they’re doing and go back home and they’re able to play for their teams. Wearing that badge, I can see it ignites something from their childhood. It’s a great honor for them.

Source: TODAY