2026 World Cup TV ratings: Most-watched matches in the United States

The competition was a huge success for the TV networks that had the rights to broadcast World Cup matches for the last month and a half, with ratings that broke several audience records in the country.

It became clear that the final between Spain and Argentina was the most-watched match of the competition, with 61.1 million viewers. This meant the final surpassed the previous top audience figures, with the English-language broadcast alone becoming the most-watched match ever in the United States.

The audience was divided between 38.9 million viewers who watched the English-language broadcast on FOX and 22.6 million viewers who watched the Spanish-language broadcast on Telemundo and Peacock.

Other most-watched matches

The strong runs from hosts such as the United States and Mexico helped improve the ratings. After the final, the most-watched match was Mexico’s loss to England in the Round of 16, with a total of 44.8 million viewers. It was also the most-watched non-USMNT match in English-language broadcast history.

The third-most-watched match in the country was the elimination of the main host, with Belgium’s 4-1 victory over the USMNT the following day drawing a total audience of 42 million viewers. It became the most-watched match in English-language broadcast history in the country.

The next match in the ranking was another USMNT appearance in its first knockout match, in which the team beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 in front of an audience of 33.53 million viewers.

The semifinals were also highly watched

Right after the USMNT and Mexico matches came the semifinals, which also drew strong audiences. The most-watched of the two was Argentina’s 2-1 victory over England, with 28.3 million viewers, including 16.9 million in English and 11.4 million in Spanish, while France’s loss to Spain drew a total of 25.6 million viewers.