The 2026 Men's World Cup matches have already broken viewership records. Things are still early, so bigger audiences may be on the horizon.

With the United States men’s national soccer team into the knockout stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Fox Sports has high viewership expectations for the rest of the tournament. “The round of 32 game and the round of 16 game,

Viewership in the U.S. for the opening match of the Men’s FIFA World Cup smashed records for FOX Sports. The match, which saw Mexico top South Africa 2-0 had an average of 6.309 million viewers across FOX,

Viewership of FIFA World Cup 2026™ Averages 7.5 Million Viewers, Up +234% vs. 2022 Through First Twelve Games. USA Opener on Friday is Most-Watched USMNT FIFA World Cup™ Match

Kansas City is proving its status as an American sports city during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Not only is the city hosting World Cup matches, but local soccer fans have tuned into matches at a jaw-dropping level.

For all the stink about Fox’s full-screen commercials during hydration breaks at the World Cup, very few viewers seem to be tuning out because of them. According to a recent analysis by the sports media consultants at Octagon,

FOX's World Cup pregame show is drawing similar viewership numbers to popular college football, NFL and NBA programs throughout the course of the tournament group stage

Like the matches themselves, the pregame has more than doubled its audience from 2022.

Early TV ratings for the 2026 World Cup, though, set records for Fox and Telemundo. The United States’ opening match against Paraguay drew 18 million viewers on Fox Sports, becoming the most-watched English-language soccer telecast ever in the U.S., per Deadline.

The beautiful game seems to have captured the imagination of the United States, as it is putting up record-high viewership numbers. With the FIFA World Cup being held partly in the United States, the hope was that the general population would start getting invested in the sport.