Despite soccer being the most popular sport in the world, that has never been the case in the United States.
But this year’s United States Men’s National Team World Cup squad is getting the love it has never received that is right on par with the big four leagues in the country.
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According to Nielsen Media Research, over 18 million people were tuned into the end of USA’s 1-0 win against Iran, which put them into the knockout stage, with an average of 12.365 million people watching the entirety of the match.
To compare, an average of 12.549 million people watched Game 6 of the World Series last month, where the Houston Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies to take their second championship. Not bad for a group stage game against the Fall Classic.
Over 15.4 million watched the whole match against England last Friday, making it the most-watched men’s soccer match ever in the United States.
Both of those numbers trump the 2018 World Cup Final between France and Croatia, in which an average of 11.4 million people were tuned in. For reference, an average of 3.5 million people watched the entire World Cup four years ago, and almost 5.5 million people are tuned in this year.
Surely, the USA playing will increase ratings in its own country, but it generally seems that more people are interested in this USA squad than previous ones.
Fox has seen a 10 percent increase in viewership from the 2014 World Cup, which was the last time the United States played in the tournament.
The United States is back in action on Saturday at 10 a.m. ET to face the Netherlands in the Round of 16, where draws are no longer a thing – it is now win or go home.
The aforementioned 2014 team was eliminated in the Round of 16 by Belgium, a match that drew 16.5 million viewers. Surely, the USA’s Saturday morning match can result in that number being shattered.
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