Spotlight
DoorDash got Ibrahimović to roast every eliminated team from the 2026 World Cup
By Ridhi
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5 min read
There is a very specific kind of grief that hits a fan the moment their national team gets knocked out of a World Cup. DoorDash decided to make that grief funnier. As the official tournament supporter of FIFA World Cup 2026, the food delivery brand hired Zlatan Ibrahimović to personally roast every country that loses. Meanwhile, each roast lands on DoorDash’s own Instagram and X accounts within hours of the final whistle.
The result is one of the most consistently entertaining real-time brand campaigns of the tournament so far, and Zlatan being Zlatan, nobody is safe. Not even Sweden.
The Setup
Before the tournament began, DoorDash announced its status as an official supporter of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. However, unlike most sponsors that lean on generic hype content, DoorDash went a different route. Instead of celebrating winners, the brand decided to celebrate losers, or more precisely, to send them home with a punchline.
The choice of Zlatan Ibrahimović was inevitable. Furthermore, the retired Swedish striker has spent his entire career saying things nobody else is willing to say. His confidence, his one-liners, and his refusal to spare anyone made him the perfect voice for a campaign built on cheerful cruelty. Meanwhile, the format is simple. When a team gets eliminated, Zlatan drops a short video with a tailored roast, and DoorDash posts it.
The Roasts So Far
Germany lost 4-3 to Paraguay on penalties in the Round of 32. Zlatan’s response: “Germany, it’s over. Now, you can drink sad beers.” A jab at both the exit and the country’s beer culture in one line.
Sweden, his own country, got dismantled 3-0 by France. Zlatan showed no mercy. “Sweden, I told you, there’s no new Zlatan. You’re out.” In fact, roasting his own country is the strongest signal that no team was going to be spared.
Brazil lost to Norway after Erling Haaland scored twice in the second half. The line: “Brazil, you’re out. The samba continues… in Brazil.”
Mexico lost 3-0 at the Azteca to England, ending an unbeaten home run stretching back to 2013. Zlatan’s roast used Mexico’s own cultural signatures against them. “Mexico, enjoy your tacos. Amigos, adiós.”
The United States lost 4-1 to Belgium in a controversy-filled game featuring an overturned red card. Zlatan’s line broke the internet. “US is out, so your American dream is over. Next time call it football, not soccer, okay?”
Portugal exited after a late Merino goal, with Ronaldo unable to save the campaign. “Portugal. Almost. But almost is not enough.”
Egypt got the most creative treatment. After Argentina completed a stunning comeback from 2-0 down, DoorDash didn’t post a roast video. Instead, they posted a single photo of Zlatan wrapped head to toe in bandages, styled as an Egyptian mummy, buried and gone.
Norway
Morocco
France
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Why This Works
Most tournament sponsorships default to generic “we love football” content that could belong to any brand. Meanwhile, DoorDash did something almost every sponsor forgets to do. It picked a specific voice, gave that voice a specific job, and let the tournament write the rest.
Furthermore, the timing is what makes the campaign land. Each roast drops within hours of the elimination, when the wound is still fresh and the internet is still processing what just happened. In fact, half the appeal is that DoorDash is participating in the collective heartbreak rather than watching it from the sidelines.
Still, the choice of Zlatan is the single sharpest decision in the campaign. Any other footballer would soften the edges. Zlatan doesn’t have edges. He is edges. Similarly, his willingness to roast his own country in the same tone as every other team is what stops the campaign from feeling one-sided or mean-spirited. It’s not about winners and losers. It’s about the fact that Zlatan thinks everyone loses eventually, and that includes him.
What Made It Different
Sponsorship advertising has an unspoken rule. Be enthusiastic. Be inclusive. Be positive. Instead, DoorDash chose to be a heckler. Meanwhile, that inversion is the entire reason the campaign is working.
Furthermore, the campaign is one of the first major examples of a brand using a tournament sponsorship purely to react to what happens on the pitch, rather than trying to shape the narrative around it. Every roast is a real-time response, and every response is written to feel like it came from a group chat, not a marketing team. In fact, the campaign proves that in a media environment where fans expect brands to move at the speed of the internet, the best sponsorship strategy might just be to have a very funny friend on payroll.
With the quarter finals still to come, more teams will fall and more roasts will follow. Whoever wins the trophy, DoorDash has already won the sideline.
Credits
DoorDash x Zlatan Ibrahimović: Pick The Champ (2026) — DoorDash, as official supporter of the FIFA World Cup 2026 (USA, Canada, Mexico). Talent: Zlatan Ibrahimović. Campaign running across DoorDash’s Instagram, X, and TikTok accounts throughout the tournament.
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