Key Points
- 2026 FIFA World Cup opened with record-setting television audiences across the United States on both English- and Spanish-language platforms.
- The U.S.-Paraguay audience more than doubled the comparable 2022 match against Wales, which aired in a weekday afternoon timeslot during the tournament’s November scheduling window.
- Combined English- and Spanish-language audiences for the U.S.-Paraguay game reached approximately 24.9 million viewers, ranking it among the most-watched sporting events of the year.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is off to a record-setting start in the United States, with Fox Sports and Telemundo noting historic audiences for the tournament’s opening matches last week.
According to preliminary viewership figures released by the networks and cited by Front Office Sports, both English- and Spanish-language coverage delivered some of the largest World Cup audiences ever recorded in the United States.
Fox said the tournament opener between Mexico and South Africa on June 11 averaged 6.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched World Cup group-stage match on English-language television that did not involve the U.S. men’s national team.
That record lasted just one day: Fox reported that Friday’s U.S. men’s national team match against Paraguay averaged 15.99 million viewers across its platforms, setting a new record as the most-watched World Cup match involving the U.S. men’s team on English-language television.
The audience more than doubled the viewership for the United States’ opening match against Wales during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which aired in a weekday afternoon timeslot during the tournament’s unusual November scheduling window.
Spanish-language coverage also delivered blockbuster viewership numbers: Telemundo, Peacock and the network’s streaming platforms averaged 12.1 million viewers for the Mexico-South Africa match, making it the most-watched World Cup opening match in U.S. television history regardless of language. Later, Telemundo’s coverage of the United States-Paraguay match averaged 8.9 million viewers, the network’s largest audience ever for a World Cup group-stage match not involving Mexico.
Combined, the English- and Spanish-language broadcasts of the U.S.-Paraguay match drew approximately 24.9 million viewers, placing the game among the most-watched sporting events of the year.
All FIFA World Cup matches are streaming in English on Fox One, with select matches available for free on Tubi. All games in Spanish are available on Comcast’s Telemundo and NBC Sports Network and are streaming on Peacock, with a handful of events available on Comcast’s Xumo Play.
