Soccer players … They’re just like us.For the 2026 FIFA World Cup, McDonald’s is launching a new global campaign that brings notable footballers right to its drive-thrus.Produced by Wieden+Kennedy New York, the campaign features a series of 60-, 30- and 15-second videos featuring retired soccer legends David Beckham, Ronaldinho and Thierry Henry alongside current players such as Spain’s Lamine Yamal, South Korea’s Son Heung-min, Mexico’s Santiago Giménez, Canada’s Alphonso Davies and Christian Pulisic of the U.S.These ads, with cuts for CTV, linear, digital and social, show the soccer stars eating at McDonald’s restaurants, playing with soccer balls out front and ordering at drive-thru windows. Stills and photos from the shoot are set to appear in out-of-home placements as well. “Most brands will treat the players like larger than life action figures. But what feels most authentic to McDonald’s … is that we’re showing a very real, human side of these players,” W+K New York creative directors Paddy Treacy and Alex McClelland told Campaign. “These athletes are McDonald’s fans, like the rest of us.”Prolific commercial director Stacy Wall was tapped for the ads, which showcase a limited-edition line of collectible cups reminiscent of McDonald’s Dream Team Cups of the 1990s. The cup designs were developed with British design agency Ilovedust; each player featured in the ads gets a design, plus one featuring fan-favorite mascot, Grimace, for nine total.To receive the cups, customers must order the official FIFA World Cup ’26 meal, available June 4, with the choice between a Big Mac or 10-piece Chicken McNuggets. The FIFA World Cup ’26 Happy Meal, available June 9, comes with soccer-themed Squishmallow toys representing the three North American host countries for this year’s tournament.Several of the ads feature players receiving their own cup design or those of their fellow players. Some ads that air during the game will do so sequentially — for example, Beckham receiving Henry’s cup, then Henry receiving Beckham’s and lastly Beckham receiving his own. Other social cuts prominently display the cup designs, feature archival footage or show the footballers competing against Grimace.“Growing up, it was our ritual after soccer tournaments to go to our McDonald's near Hershey, PA, for Chicken McNuggets and a McFlurry,” said USMNT’s Pulisic in a statement. “Those memories were a core part of my childhood and an experience I still share with my teammates today. To now be featured on a McDonald's collectible cup all these years later is a full-circle moment.”Last month, Pulisic was featured in a sprawling creative campaign from Chobani, USMNT’s official nutrition partner, which included a custom collage and jersey, as well as a documentary short film featuring him and his parents. Heung-min, who also plays for MLS’ Los Angeles FC, recently partnered with Essentia Water in his first U.S.-based brand partnership.