sports
Belgium Defeats United States 4-1 in World Cup Round of 16
The United States lost to Belgium 4-1 on Monday in Seattle, ending its 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign. The match drew a record 30 million U.S. viewers, according to Fox data reported by ESPN.
Jul 7, 4:44 PM·1m read4 sources
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Belgium defeated the United States 4-1 on Monday in Seattle, ending the U.S. team's participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Fox said the game set a record as the most-watched soccer telecast in U.S. history. Preliminary ratings showed an average audience of 30 million viewers, with a peak of more than 36.8 million between 9:15 and 9:30 p.m.
The previous mark was set the prior week when the United States played Bosnia-Herzegovina and drew 26.4 million viewers, Fox said. The Mexico-Ecuador match earlier in the tournament had drawn 29.3 million viewers.
By comparison, the 2025 Super Bowl averaged 127.7 million viewers across multiple networks, while last month's NBA Finals averaged 20.6 million viewers, the highest mark since 1998.
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