The United States’ World Cup knockout victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina has not only advanced the team but also made history off the pitch, becoming the most-watched English-language soccer broadcast ever in the nation.
Fox Sports confirmed the record, citing Nielsen preliminary data that showed an average viewership of 24.429 million. The audience peaked at an impressive 31.883 million during the match’s climactic 9.45-10pm ET window.
As co-hosts of this year’s tournament, the US played the crucial Round of 32 fixture in Santa Clara, California. The 8pm ET prime-time kickoff on the East Coast likely contributed significantly to the massive audience.
The team secured a 2-0 victory over Bosnia, with goals from Folarin Balogun and Malik Tillman, marking their first World Cup knockout stage win since a Round of 16 triumph in 2002. They are now set to face Belgium on Monday in Seattle, a match that Balogun is set to miss after controversially being sent off following a VAR review.
This unprecedented soccer viewership nearly matched the 24.5 million average for the New York Knicks’ title-clinching Game 5 win against the San Antonio Spurs last month.
It also approached the almost 26 million viewers who tuned in for Game 7 of last fall’s World Series, where the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays.
The US have impressed at this year’s tournament, picking up convincing wins over Paraguay and Australia to top their group before losing a dead rubber against Turkey. They then got back to winning aways against Bosnia on Wednesday.
However, a new poll has revealed that winning over a wider audience when it comes to soccer is still a challenge.
While approximately six in ten US adults anticipate the World Cup will boost other Americans’ interest in soccer, only 24 percent personally report increased interest. Soccer fans, however, are notably more optimistic, with about three-quarters expecting a general rise in interest, compared to roughly half of non-soccer fans. Furthermore, about half of soccer fans say the World Cup has personally heightened their interest, a sentiment shared by only 17 percent of non-fans.
