Spain’s World Cup triumph over Argentina on Sunday shattered viewing figures stateside with the finale to the United States’ home tournament setting an all-time high mark.
Luis de la Fuente’s side emerged victorious from the showdown against Argentina at MetLife Stadium thanks to Barcelona star Ferran Torres, who bagged the winning goal in extra time to seal Spain’s second World Cup triumph.
Despite the USMNT failing to make it further than the last 16, American fans continued to tune into the tournament with a record figure watching Sunday’s drab encounter.
The 2026 World Cup final averaged more than 62 million viewers across Fox, which holds the English-language rights to the tournament, and Telemundo and its streaming platform Peacock, which broadcasts the event in Spanish.
Fox alone averaged 38.937 million viewers with the figure peaking at 51.685 million, making it the most-watched World Cup final ever in the US, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Meanwhile, Telemundo and Peacock’s viewership averaged 23.9 million, totalling a combined 62.837 million viewers across all three platforms.
Spain’s World Cup triumph over Argentina on Sunday shattered viewing figures in the US
Barcelona star Ferran Torres bagged the winning goal in extra time to seal Spain’s 1-0 win
Argentina were thuggish throughout the clash and even descended into violence at full time
The viewership also reportedly makes it the new most-watched soccer telecast in US television history.
The number beats broadcasts of every NFL games from the 2025 season with the exception of the Super Bowl, according to Pro Football Talk.
The enormous figure even smashed the NFL regular-season record of 57.23 million for Chiefs-Cowboys on Thanksgiving.
It’s also reportedly more than twice the viewership for the Miami-Indiana 2025 college football championship game, which attracted 30.1 million.
American fans continuously tuned into coverage throughout the tournament making this World Cup the most-watched ever on Fox. Across 104 matches between 48 nations, an average 7.737 million watched – marking a 116 percent increase from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The bronze final between England and France even set records with 13.13 million watching on Fox, smashing the previous third-place telecast record in the US, which was set by Uruguay vs. Germany at the 2010 World Cup with 4.755 million.
Torres’s winner finally managed to break the deadlock in the 106th minute after the final showdown had remained agonizingly goalless throughout 90 minutes of regular time and the first half of extra time – despite Spain’s rampant attack.
The final wasn’t without its share of drama, however, as Argentina were thuggish throughout, just as they had been when they beat England in the semis.
Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez was sent off in the 93rd minute following a reckless challenge on Pau Cubarsi – which summed up the South Americans’ deplorable approach to the game.
