The 2026 FIFA World Cup has surpassed all expectations in the United States, delivering record-breaking crowds and unprecedented television audiences. Through the first 78 matches, an average of 64,511 fans attended each game—10,000 more than the 2022 tournament in Qatar—with stadiums operating at a 99.7% occupancy rate.
FIFA has sold 6.5 million tickets for the tournament, which the US is hosting across multiple cities. The attendance figures reflect not only strong support from visiting nations but also a dramatic surge in domestic interest.
Television audiences eclipse traditional American sports
American viewership has shattered previous benchmarks. The United States men’s national team (USMNT) round-of-16 defeat against Belgium drew an average of 33 million viewers on Fox, peaking at 41 million during the final 15 minutes. According to Nielsen ratings, this exceeded the audience for the 2025 World Series and Game Five of last month’s NBA finals.
The match against Belgium broke a record set days earlier when over 26 million viewers watched the USMNT defeat Bosnia. That figure had itself surpassed the audience for the 4-1 victory over Paraguay.
Interest extends beyond American fixtures. The group stage encounter between England and Mexico attracted 21.7 million viewers on Fox and an additional 23.2 million on Spanish-language network Telemundo. Across the first 72 matches, Fox averaged five million viewers while Telemundo averaged 4.6 million.
Soccer cements status in American sporting culture
The explosion in popularity builds upon decades of growth. One in ten Americans now identifies football as their favourite sport, edging out baseball to become the country’s third-most popular game behind American football and basketball.
This transformation follows strategic investments dating back to 1994, when profits from the previous American-hosted World Cup helped launch Major League Soccer. The 1999 Women’s World Cup, which the US won on home soil, further accelerated participation, leading to the creation of the National Women’s Soccer League in 2012.
Broadcast deals for the Premier League and La Liga have cultivated dedicated supporter bases willing to watch matches in the early hours. For the 2026 tournament, primetime scheduling has eliminated timezone barriers, allowing fans to watch live without disrupting work routines.
Research from Ipsos Sports indicates that 40% of American adults have actively followed the tournament on social media, while one-quarter have watched matches in bars or restaurants and one-fifth have attended public viewing parties.