U.S. Men’s Soccer Team Sets Viewership Record with World Cup Win

The U.S. men’s national soccer team’s 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup has set a new record for the most-watched English-language soccer broadcast on American television. According to Fox Sports, the match reached a peak audience of about 31.8 million viewers and maintained an average of 24.4 million. Additionally, 9.1 million viewers watched the game on the Spanish-language network Telemundo.

Record-Breaking Audience Figures

This match now ranks among the top-rated sports events of the past year. It surpassed the previous record for an English-language soccer broadcast, held by the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup final between the U.S. and Japan, which had 22.3 million viewers. Nielsen reports that the U.S. men’s team’s earlier group-stage matches against Paraguay, Turkey, and Australia garnered averages of around 18 million, 17 million, and 16 million viewers, respectively.

Comparison with Other Major Sporting Events

The viewership figures for this World Cup match are on par with other significant sports events aired in the U.S. recently. For example, the NBA Finals, where the New York Knicks triumphed over the San Antonio Spurs, averaged 24.5 million viewers on ABC and ESPN. This marked its highest ratings since 1998. Similarly, the decisive game of the 2025 World Series drew an average of 27.3 million viewers, and the NFL’s Sunday Night Football averaged 23.5 million viewers on NBC last season.

Despite these high numbers, they still fall short of the Super Bowl, which remains the most-watched sporting event in the U.S. This year’s Super Bowl achieved an average viewership of 125.6 million across various platforms.

Expanding World Cup Audience in the U.S.

The 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, offers American fans unparalleled access with matches held in home venues, convenient kickoff times, and comprehensive domestic coverage. This accessibility appears to be drawing in more casual viewers, suggesting that the World Cup is appealing to a broader audience beyond traditional soccer enthusiasts. For comparison, the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France attracted 25.8 million viewers combined from Fox and Telemundo.

The U.S. men’s team’s most-viewed game during that tournament was the group-stage clash against England, watched by 19.9 million people on Fox and Telemundo, followed by 16.5 million viewers for their round-of-16 defeat to the Netherlands. The U.S. team has now advanced to the last 16 and is set to play Belgium on Monday, a match expected to draw a substantial audience.