The United States met England in a historic World Cup game on Friday pulled 15.4 million viewers for Fox.
The game, which ended 0-0, is now one of the most-watched men’s soccer games on US television. The current record holder remains USA’s 2-2 draw with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in 2014, which was watched by 24.7 million viewers.
Friday’s game is by far the most-watched game of the 2022 World Cup in the United States
Another 4.6 million tuned in to Telemundo Deportes’ Spanish-language coverage of the game on Telemundo, Peacock and digital platforms. This is the second most-watched World Cup group stage game involving a US team in Spanish-speaking history – 33% more than the US’ opening game against Wales.
It is also Telemundo’s second most-watched match of the 2022 World Cup after the Thanksgiving match between Brazil and Serbia.
Friday’s game benefited from a 2pm ET / 11am ET start time on a holiday, which made for an impressive viewership. It was already widely expected to be a record, especially after both the USA and England drew decent attendances in their first games.
On Monday, the USA-Wales game scored 12 million points on Fox and Telemundo, while England’s fiery 6-2 win over Iran was watched by a total of 1.6 million viewers in the US across FS1 and digital platforms. This game started at 8:00am ET/5:00pm PT, which at least partially explains why not too many US viewers tuned in. On the BBC, this game peaked around midday with 8 million British viewers.