US World Cup crowds near 65,000 a game as TV records keep falling
What's new: Fox and Telemundo are both posting huge audiences, with England-Mexico drawing nearly 45 million combined viewers in the US.
The 2026 World Cup is drawing record crowds and TV audiences in the United States, underscoring a broader surge in interest beyond the US team’s matches. Through the first 78 games, average attendance reached 64,511 with stadium occupancy at 99.7%, and FIFA said it had sold 6.5 million tickets, according to The Guardian. US viewership has also climbed sharply: Fox’s English-language broadcast of the US round-of-16 loss to Belgium averaged 33 million viewers and peaked at 41 million. Spanish-language coverage is also pulling in English-speaking fans, with Telemundo benefiting from lower streaming costs, no ad breaks during hydration pauses and the popularity of Andrés Cantor’s goal calls.