In Auckland, the US Women’s National Team (USWNT) started their bid to become the first team to win the Women’s World Cup three times in a row.

They did this by comfortably beating the Vietnam team 3-0, in front of a crowd of 41,107 and with thousands of traveling USA fans.

Sophia Smith, one of the 14 players in the squad making their first World Cup appearance, scored two goals before half-time for the four-time world champions.

The number-one ranked team in the world took the lead as Smith fired in a low-drilled finish from an angle. Meanwhile, after a lengthy check by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for an offside, her second goal was awarded.

How many people have watched it on English-language TV channel in US?

In the 77th minute, captain Lindsey Horan scored the third goal after an assist by Smith. The Vietnam keeper, Tran Thi Kim Thanh, had a memorable moment when her jubilant teammates mobbed her after saving Alex Morgan’s penalty, which was awarded for a foul on Trinity Rodman.

Vietnam hardly ever got out of their own half, but they worked hard and played tough defense to keep the score from being too bad.

FOX Sports have boasted that the game got 5,261,000 people tuning up on their channel, making it the second-most watched Women’s World Cup Group Stage game ever shown on an English-language channel.

It’s up +99% from the 2019 World Cup Group Stage broadcast from France on FOX, which showed the USA playing Thailand and was watched by 2,649,000 people.

The 2019 group game between the United States and Chile, which 5,337,000 people watched, is the one that has the most views so far.

How many people have watched it on Spanish-language TV channel in US?

Meanwhile, on average, 1 million people have reportedly watched USA’s 3-0 triumph on Telemundo, Peacock, Universo, and Telemundo online services on Friday night.

The match has now become the third most-watched Women’s World Cup Group Stage match in Spanish-language history.

In addition, it is the third largest ever, regardless of stage. The only matches surpassing it in viewership are the 2019 and 2015 Finals.

This year’s USA Team opener got twice as many views as the 2019 start against Thailand. It has thus become the most-watched Women’s World Cup match in Spanish-language history, with 152,000 people watching on average each minute.

Photo credit: IMAGO / NurPhoto