As El Paso’s Alejandro Zendejas looks for his first action at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, he found an unusual way to make a happy headline.
Zendejas and his teammates, Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie, per an ESPN report, left the team hotel in Laguna Niguel, Calif. (Southern California) on Sunday, June 21, to find a pizza place. That happened several miles from their hotel, but when they tried to catch a rideshare back, they learned there was a big traffic accident that had closed down one side of the Pacific Coast Highway.
Told it would take several hours to clear everything, they considered walking, but Pulisic is nursing an injury and that didn’t seem feasible.
According to ESPN, they then spotted SC Carts, a dealership that specializes in high-end, street-legal golf carts. They wandered in and started looking over the golf carts, considering a $9,000 purchase that could take them several miles, and what they would do with the cart then.
The owner, Cole Schamber, didn’t initially have any idea of who they were, but did notice some fans wanting to be pictured with them.
“I’m not a soccer fan: I just run my business, so I don’t even have a chance to watch much TV,” he told ESPN. “It was only when people started asking them for pictures that I realized what was happening. And then they also mentioned that they play for the U.S. soccer team.”
As it developed, Schamber had to deliver a golf cart in the vague direction of the hotel, so Zendejas, McKennie and Pulisic hopped in, and Schamber drove them back to the hotel.
“They were good guys,” Schamber told ESPN. “When I dropped them off at the valet stand, we fist-bumped and I told them, ‘You know where to find me if you want to buy a cart.’ They seemed really happy to be back.”
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Alejandro Zendejas, USMNT teammates stranded, get golf cart ride
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times | USA TODAY Network
