The United States men's national team delivered a commanding 4-1 victory over Paraguay in its opening FIFA World Cup match on home soil, drawing a crowd of 70,492 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The performance was matched by historic television metrics. Fox Sports reported that the broadcast reached 15.986 million viewers, establishing the most-watched USMNT FIFA Men’s World Cup telecast in English-language U.S. history.
This figure represents a 106% increase compared to the 2022 group-stage opener against Wales, which averaged 11.7 million viewers. Peak viewership during the match hit 18.86 million. The engagement level rivaled major American sporting events; the game one of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs averaged just over 16 million viewers.
Forward Folarin Balogun led the offensive charge with two goals in his World Cup debut. Analysts note this momentum presents a significant opportunity to expand soccer's domestic footprint and attract new fans to Major League Soccer. The USMNT faces Australia next on Friday at Lumen Field in Seattle.
Jon is a writer and content creator for OutKick