The U.S. men's national soccer team’s round of 16 match against Belgium at the 2026 World Cup became the most-watched soccer telecast in U.S. history, according to Fox's preliminary ratings released Tuesday.

Fox reported that 30 million viewers tuned in to watch Belgium's 4-1 victory on Monday in Seattle, a result that advanced Belgium to the quarterfinals and eliminated the last of the tournament’s three co-hosts. The audience peaked at more than 36.8 million viewers between 9:15 and 9:30 p.m.

This viewership surpassed the previous record set just last week during the U.S.-Bosnia-Herzegovina game, which attracted 26.4 million viewers. Additionally, Fox noted that the Portugal-Croatia match in the round of 32 drew 11.1 million viewers, marking the highest English-language U.S. audience for a World Cup game without the U.S. team, excluding the final. That match's viewership peaked at over 16 million during its dramatic finish.

These figures highlight growing interest in World Cup soccer broadcasts across the United States.

Sources