According to Fox, the clash between the United States and Belgium during the round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup set a new record as the most-watched soccer broadcast in U.S. history, following the release of preliminary ratings on Tuesday.
Fox reported that the match, where Belgium triumphed 4-1 on Monday in Seattle, amassed an audience of 30 million viewers, propelling Belgium into the quarterfinals and knocking out the last of the three co-hosts in the tournament.
Viewership peaked at over 36.8 million between 9:15 and 9:30 p.m. ET.
This surpassed the previous record held by the U.S.-Bosnia-Herzegovina match, which Fox noted attracted 26.4 million viewers last week.
For context, the most-watched Super Bowl occurred in 2025, garnering an average of 127.7 million viewers as the Philadelphia Eagles faced the Kansas City Chiefs across Fox, Fox Deportes, Telemundo, and Tubi, peaking at 137.7 million during the second quarter.
In comparison, last month’s NBA Finals, featuring the New York Knicks against the San Antonio Spurs, drew an average of 20.6 million viewers on ABC and ESPN, the highest viewership since 1998.
Prior to this match, the highest combined U.S. viewership during the World Cup was for the Mexico–Ecuador game, which attracted 29.3 million viewers.
This report includes information from The Associated Press.