The beautiful game seems to have captured the imagination of the United States, as it is putting up record-high viewership numbers.
With the FIFA World Cup being held partly in the United States, the hope was that the general population would start getting invested in the sport.
Football has always struggled in viewership figures compared to domestic sports leagues like NCAA, NBA, and NFL. But recent figures from the USMNT’s FIFA World Cup games show the tide might be turning.
USA vs. Turkiye draws massive viewership for Fox Sports
According to figures cited by the Sports Business Journal, the United States Men’s National Team’s game against Turkiye in the FIFA World Cup was a huge ratings hit.
The game drew a little over 17 million viewers, with the broadcast peaking with 19.5 million concurrent viewers, despite competition from their sister channel, FS1, which broadcast the Paraguay vs. Australia game.
USA vs. Turkiye is now the second-most-watched telecast in American history, with only USA’s opening World Cup fixture against Paraguay boasting more viewers (18 million).
Kansas City was the leading market for the broadcast, followed by San Diego (CA), St. Louis (MO), Denver (CO) and Dallas-Fort Worth (TX).
These numbers in isolation are, of course, very impressive. But when comparing this to other recent sporting events, we get an idea of how truly popular soccer (football) is becoming in the United States.
USA vs. Turkiye draws more viewers than NBA Finals and SEC championship game
By drawing a little over 17 million viewers, the USA vs. Turkiye game managed to draw a bigger audience than the recent SEC championship game (16.9 million), Games 1 and 2 of the 2026 NBA Finals (16.9 & 16.4 million), and the CFP semi-final fixture between Miami and Ole Miss (15.8 million).
The game did fall short slightly when compared to the CFP semi-finals between Indiana and Oregon (18 million). But the USMNT’s opener against Paraguay did manage to match this figure.
One can imagine that the United States hosting the FIFA World Cup has helped generate a lot of local and communal excitement surrounding the sport and their own team.
And if the USMNT can go on a deep run in this year’s World Cup after getting past Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32, these numbers will only continue to grow.
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