FIFA Men’s World Cup Begins in United States for First Time Since 1994
The tournament opened last week with the United States as co-host. Advertisers are using global players and Spanish-language content to reach domestic audiences.
ForbesThe FIFA Men’s World Cup began last week, marking the first time the United States has hosted the event since 1994. S. professional leagues.
U.S. men’s national team last reached the World Cup quarterfinals in 2002. Since 2020 the team has had five managers, including interims, and Mauricio Pochettino will leave after the 2026 tournament.
Between the end of the 2022 World Cup and the May 31, 2026 friendly, the team recorded 26 wins, 18 losses and nine draws, including an 11-9-2 mark since the start of 2025. On May 31 the United States defeated Paraguay 4-1 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Christian Pulisic scored the team’s second goal in a subsequent friendly against Senegal and appears in commercials for Michelob Ultra, Degree and Hershey.
Argentina and Mexico national teams, among them Lionel Messi. Lay’s produced a 60-second “Bandwagon” spot featuring Will Ferrell, Marshawn Lynch and David Beckham; iSpot data showed the ad rated 11 percent above the category average for likeability, with 30 percent of surveyed viewers citing the celebrity spokespeople as its strongest element.
Spanish-language videos accounted for nearly 40 percent of brand World Cup views on YouTube through June 15, according to Tubular Labs.
5 percent. As of December 2025 Telemundo had sold 90 percent of its 2026 World Cup inventory. The average World Cup match carries less than half the advertising time of a Super Bowl, Sean Muller, iSpot chief executive, said.
Graham McKenna, chief marketing officer at XR: Extreme Reach, noted that advertisers must create spots that appeal simultaneously to fans of multiple national teams living in the United States.
