Maxim De Cuyper #5 of Belgium and Alex Freeman #16 of United States battle for the ball during the second half of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round Of 16 match at Seattle Stadium on July 6, 2026 in Seattle, United States. (Photo by Jane Gershovich/ISI Ph …
The latest host-nation game between the United States and Belgium in the round of 16 was a hot ticket for fans and TV ratings, turning the broadcast into a ratings demon that now stands as the most-watched soccer telecast in U.S. history.
Preliminary ratings released by Fox on Tuesday showed that 30 million viewers tuned in to Monday night's U.S.-Belgium World Cup match in Seattle, giving it the history-making mark. The game reached its peak audience between 9:15 and 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time with more than 36.8 million viewers.
Viewership numbers
By the numbers:
Matches have shattered viewership records since the World Cup kicked off last month, driven by the U.S. team’s dominant run through the group stage.
Deadline reports that the U.S. victory over Paraguay drew 18 million viewers across Fox, FS1 and Tubi.
And the U.S.-Belgium matchup has now surpassed last week’s high-water mark in the round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, which pulled in 26.4 million viewers, according to Fox.
Big picture view:
Across 72 matches in the group stage in this year’s World Cup, numbers are up 92% from the 2022 World Cup, making it the most-watched FIFA Men’s World Cup Group Stage telecast average in English-language U.S. history.
What's next:
The FIFA World Cup quarter-finals matchups have been set and will run from Thursday to Sunday between the final eight times of France, Morocco, Spain, Belgium, Norway, England, Argentina and Switzerland.
All FIFA World Cup 2026 matches will air on FOX or FOX Sports, and you can also stream them on the FOX One and FOX Sports apps.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 final will take place July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the culmination of a month-long tournament hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The Source: This story was written with information provided by The Associated Press, Deadline and FOX Sports. This story was reported from Orlando.