The 2026 FIFA World Cup continues to break records on English-language television in the United States. This Tuesday’s match between Spain and France averaged 11.462 million viewers on FOX, making it the most-watched FIFA Men’s World Cup semifinal in U.S. English-language television history.
The record-breaking crowd watched as Spain defeated France to advance to this Sunday’s final. The Spain-France match record may not last long. Wednesday’s semi-final showdown between England and Argentina, currently being played in Atlanta, could surpass Tuesday’s viewership benchmark of 11.462 million viewers.
In the match between Spain and France held in Dallas, Texas, Spain defeated the favorites France 2-0, thanks to Mikel Oyarzabal’s goal from the penalty spot and another goal from Pedro Polo. This is the first time Spain will be participating in the World Cup finals since 2010. Viewership peaked at 4:45 p.m. ET, with an average audience of 15.56 million viewers.
To date, the most-watched FIFA Men’s World Cup semi-final in English-speaking countries in the United States was the 2022 match between France and Morocco, which was watched by 6.595 million viewers on FOX. Ratings for this match also increased by 76% compared to the average audience for the 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-finals on FOX (6.531 million viewers).
This was a record-breaking World Cup in the United States for both Fox and Telemundo. Last week, Fox’s coverage of the U.S. men’s national soccer team’s game against Belgium on Monday, July 6th, averaged 33,086,000 viewers, making it the most-watched soccer television broadcast in U.S. history.
For Telemundo, the July 5 game between Mexico and England ranked as the most-watched telecast ever on Spanish-language television in the United States, according to NBCUniversal research.
