Dodgers’ Roki Sasaki fails soccer challenge before USA World Cup match

There will be plenty of Los Angeles natives testing out their soccer skills ahead of Team USA’s 2026 World Cup opening match against Paraguay on June 12. And just about all of these people will learn they should stick to their day jobs.

One of these people is Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki, who is scheduled to pitch against the Chicago White Sox on the road on Friday.

The Dodgers’ social media account posted a video of Sasaki and several other Dodgers testing out their soccer ball juggling skills on June 11.

Sasaki struggled, trying to juggle twice but only being able to tally three kicks (which was generous from whoever decided what made for a successful juggle) before kicking the ball and walking away.

While this wasn’t the best display from Sasaki, several other Dodgers players were impressive with their juggling abilities.

The leader in the clubhouse was outfielder Andy Pages, who juggled the ball a staggering 83 times.

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Sasaki wasn’t the only player who should stick to baseball. Starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto could only tally five juggles before kicking the ball away, and catcher Dalton Rushing only got to six juggles.

Mookie Betts is widely considered one of the most versatile and athletes players in Major League Baseball. But that athleticism doesn’t translate to soccer, as his two juggles were the worst out of any player the Dodgers caught on camera.

Team USA star Christian Pulisic would probably not be too proud of the effort Betts produced. Then again, nobody would expect Pulisic to excel if they told him to step in the batter’s box and try to connect with a 95 mph fastball.