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Every time the U.S. men’s national team steps onto the field, it will draw a lot of attention, but Wednesday’s game against Bosnia and Herzegovina was historic.
Preliminary numbers from Nielsen report that the broadcast on Fox averaged 24.43 million viewers, peaking at 31.88 million at the end of the game.
That was enough to make it the largest English-language audience for a soccer broadcast in American history.
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The round of 16 match between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina broke viewership records in the United States. (Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Getty Images)
It simply surpassed the previous record holder, the 2015 Women’s World Cup final between the United States and Japan, which averaged 22.32 million viewers, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Telemundo’s Spanish-language broadcast of the match attracted 9.1 million viewers for a combined total of 33.53 million, easily a record for a soccer match broadcast in the United States.
But what else is new? This World Cup has been breaking ratings records since its inception.
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The United States’ World Cup matches have garnered massive ratings. (Photo by Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
In the highly anticipated clash, the United States attempted to win its first knockout match since 2002 and bounce back from a disappointing loss to Türkiye that capped the group stage.
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Bosnia and Herzegovina, meanwhile, appeared to play a decisive role after advancing from Group B as a third-place team, hoping to eliminate the United States on home soil.
American forward Folarin Balogun’s controversial red card was one of the biggest moments in the team’s victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images))
In the end, the United States achieved a 2-0 victory, but it came at a cost. Star forward Folarin Balogun received a wildly controversial red card that not only took him out of the game against Bosnia and Herzegovina (forcing the United States to play the final 25 minutes or so with a man down) but also ruled him out of Monday’s round of 16 match against Belgium.
