‘Ted Lasso,’ built on charm and empathy, won over America. It won over the soccer world, too.

When the World Cup-winning defender was roped in by the Apple TV Plus series “Ted Lasso,” about a college football coach, played by Jason Sudeikis, who tries his hand at the other football across the pond, she admired the first season for many of the typical reasons it has become a cultural touchstone and Emmy darling — the escapist optimism, the witty humor, the quirky characters.

But Klingenberg was most pleasantly surprised by how authentically the sitcom portrayed soccer, from the fervent English Premier League atmospheres to the complicated locker room dynamics. Soon enough, Klingenberg convinced about half of her once-skeptical teammates to hop aboard the “Ted Lasso” bandwagon.