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Spain players, from left, cheer alongside President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the conclusion of the World Cup championship final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 19, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jacquelyn Martin\/AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin<\/p>\n
Argentina’s Lionel Messi (10) cries at the end of the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Sunday, July 19, 2026.<\/p>\n
Stephanie Scarbrough\/AP Photo\/Stephanie Scarbrough<\/p>\n
Jude Bellingham celebrates England’s victory over Norway in a World Cup quarterfinal soccer match in Miami Gardens, Fla., Saturday, July 11, 2026.<\/p>\n
Julio Cortez\/AP Photo\/Julio Cortez<\/p>\n
Norway’s Erling Haaland (9) and Andreas Schjelderup (21) celebrate after Haaland scored their second goal during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Brazil and Norway in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Sunday, July 5, 2026.<\/p>\n
Matt Slocum\/AP Photo\/Matt Slocum<\/p>\n
France’s Kylian Mbappe (10) takes a shot as England’s Ezri Konsa (2) defends during the World Cup third-place playoff soccer match between France and England in Miami Gardens, Fla., Saturday, July 18, 2026.<\/p>\n
Rebecca Blackwell\/AP Photo\/Rebecca Blackwell<\/p>\n
There are a lot of things that could have gone wrong during this summer’s World Cup \u2014 a complicated logistical undertaking that included three host nations, 16 stadiums, 48 teams, 104 games and endless opportunities for controversy on and off the soccer field.<\/p>\n
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But in retrospect, a lot of things went right.<\/p>\n
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The United States, Canada and Mexico spent nearly six weeks hosting soccer’s biggest showcase and \u2014 at least for the most part \u2014 the action stayed on the field.<\/p>\n
Fox said Tuesday that the Spain-Argentina final drew 38.937 million viewers \u2014 including a peak of 51.685 million \u2014 which easily set the record as the most-watched English-language soccer telecast in U.S. history, according to Nielsen Media Research. Spain won the final 1-0 in extra time.<\/p>\n
Telemundo\u2019s preliminary numbers for its Spanish-language broadcast said the game had a total audience of 22.6 million, putting the total number of viewers in the U.S. at more than 60 million.<\/p>\n
Star players like Argentina’s Lionel Messi, France’s Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 and Norway’s Erling Haaland became household names across North America, television ratings remained high in the U.S. even after the Americans were eliminated and despite high ticket prices, most games featured packed stadiums.<\/p>\n
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino gave effusive praise to the host countries on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Attendance was good, so were ratings<\/p>\n
Fox broadcast all 104 games in English on its platforms and American viewership remained strong even after the U.S. was eliminated by Belgium in the round of 16.<\/p>\n
Spanish broadcasts on Telemundo were also a popular option \u2014 even for non-native speakers.<\/p>\n
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Fox averaged 7.737 million viewers for the 104 broadcasts on Fox, FS1 and Tubi \u2014 up from 3.588 million in 2022 and 2.77 million in 2018.<\/p>\n