A FOX Sports executive predicts that United States against England may rank as one of the top five most-watched soccer games ever in the history of US television.
Black Friday’s World Cup game airs live on FOX at 2PM ET. The Friday, November 25th match is on the day after Thanksgiving Day when most Americans are off work.
Why US-England could rank as top 5 biggest game
Speaking to Sports Video Group, here’s what FOX Sports executive producer David Neal said:
“If the United States wins its first group game, which they should. It’s against Wales.
“If the US comes in at one and 0, and assuming England will do as well, that has the potential to be one of the top 5 most-watched soccer games in US television history, and that’s just a group stage game.”
Team USA faces Wales on Monday, November 21st. In order for England-USA to break into the top five of the most-watched games, FOX Sports will have to attract a lot of casual viewers. Therefore, it’s imperative that the United States gets a win against Wales in order to create momentum going into the game against England.
Among soccer diehards, the challenge that FOX Sports has is that the morale for the USA team is quite low with coach Gregg Berhalter underwhelming a lot of US fans.
Top 5 most-watched soccer games on US TV (English-language)
| Teams | Tournament | Viewers |
|---|---|---|
| 1. USA vs Japan | 2015 Women’s World Cup Final | 25,400,000 |
| 2. USA vs Portugal | 2014 World Cup | 18,220,000 |
| 3. USA vs China | 1999 Women’s World Cup Final | 17,975,000 |
| 4. Argentina vs Germany | 2014 World Cup Final | 17,324,000 |
| 5. USA vs Belgium | 2014 World Cup | 16,941,000 |
Can US-England rank as one of the top five biggest games ever? Share your opinions in the comments section below.
200+ Channels With Sports & News
- Starting price: $33/mo. for fubo Latino Package
- Watch Premier League, Liga MX & Copa Libertadores
The New Home of MLS
- Price: $14.99/mo. for MLS Season Pass
- Watch every MLS game including playoffs & Leagues Cup
Many Sports & ESPN Originals
- Price: $10.99/mo. (or get ESPN+, Hulu & Disney+ for $14.99/mo.)
- Features Bundesliga, LaLiga, NWSL, & USL
2,000+ soccer games per year
- Price: $7.99/mo
- Features Champions League, Serie A, Europa League & EFL
175 Premier League Games & PL TV
- Starting price: $7.99/mo. for Peacock Premium
- Watch 175 exclusive EPL games per season