World Cup opening match generates 24.88m viewers in the US

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With the 2026 FIFA World Cup now underway, the opening game between the United States and Paraguay was something to behold. The US men’s national team took on Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium, Inglewood, California and delivered a high-paced defeat to the guests, with a 4-1 final score, and admittedly - a lot of extra time.

Record viewers watch USMNT's opening World Cup game

The game proved a crucial moral booster for the USMNT, with Folarin Balogun living up to expectations and delivering two goals. The success of the US men’s national team is directly tied to how much Americans are going to spend gambling on the event, as per one study that estimates that as much as $3.3bn could be potentially funneled through sportsbooks. But apart from spending, there is another major development that happened during the 2026 FIFA World Cup’s opening match - the number of people actually tuning in to watch, setting a new record in its own right. According to broadcasters the opening salvo in the tournament generated 24.886m viewers on Friday, June 12. A total of 15.986m viewers watched the 4-1 victory over Paraguay on Fox, the official broadcast, whereas another 8.9m watched the Spanish telecast on Telemundo, Peacock and Telemundo.

USMNT's game eclipsing other popular sports broadcasts in the US

These numbers have been record-breakers, with Awful Announcing pointing out that the NBA Finals averaged 19.6m viewers in contrast. The 2025 World Series drew 15.863m, with soccer clearly experiencing a renaissance in the United States. The telecast peaked at 18.86m viewers between 10:45 pm and 11 pm ET, delivering a record performance for soccer. The USMNT, which hasn’t won a World Cup, has been in remarkably good form, with its young talent starting to pay off. Interest in the tournament will now ebb and flow depending on who is playing, but if the USMNT continues to perform as well as they did in their opening game, the recently set broadcast record may be eclipsed. The US men’s national team will have the opportunity to prove its mettle against Australia later this week. Australia has also won 3 points from its opening game against Turkey, ranked 22nd by FIFA.