The 2026 FIFA World Cup final drew a combined average audience of more than 61.5 million viewers in the United States, making it the most-watched soccer match in American television history.
Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in extra time on Sunday, July 19, with Ferran Torres scoring the decisive goal. Fox’s English-language broadcast of the match averaged 38,937,000 viewers, according to final Nielsen figures released by the network, while Telemundo’s Spanish-language coverage, also available on Peacock, averaged 22.6 million viewers based on preliminary data.
A new benchmark for soccer in the U.S.
Fox said its broadcast peaked at 51,685,000 viewers between 5:45 and 6:00 p.m. ET, coinciding with Torres’ extra-time winner. The network’s average for the match also set a new English-language record for a soccer telecast in the United States, surpassing the 16.7 million viewers who watched the 2022 final between Argentina and France.
The combined total for this year’s final broke the record for the most-watched soccer match of any kind in U.S. history, a mark set earlier in the same tournament when the United States’ round-of-16 loss to Belgium drew a combined Fox and Telemundo audience of roughly 33.5 million.
Fox’s aggregate figure for the final was also described as the largest English-language broadcast outside NFL games in the U.S. since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, which drew roughly 40 million viewers.
A record-setting tournament overall
The final capped a tournament that set viewership marks throughout its run. Fox said it averaged 7,737,000 viewers across all 104 of its match broadcasts on Fox, FS1 and Tubi, making it the most-watched FIFA World Cup in U.S. television history. The network reported that two matches during the tournament topped 30 million viewers, five exceeded 20 million, and eleven surpassed 15 million.
“Incredible games, record crowds/viewers, and a cultural phenomenon,” Fox Sports analyst Alexi Lalas wrote in a social media post reacting to the tournament’s reception, adding that the event had shown off American hospitality through the lens of soccer.
Context and caveats
The Telemundo and Peacock figure for the final is preliminary rather than final Nielsen data. Earlier in the tournament, a preliminary audience figure for the United States’ match against Bosnia and Herzegovina was later revised upward once final numbers were confirmed, suggesting the total for the final could still shift slightly as Telemundo’s figures are finalized.
The final’s audience is now considered soccer’s clearest rival to the Super Bowl in terms of U.S. viewership, according to figures compiled by outlets tracking the tournament’s ratings. Networks and streaming platforms are reportedly already positioning themselves for future broadcast rights, with several companies said to be evaluating bids for the 2030 and 2034 tournaments given this year’s numbers.
