World Cup Openers Draw Big Audiences for Fox, Telemundo

Players of the United States celebrate their side's first goal, an own goal by Damian Bobadilla #16 of Paraguay (not pictured), during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D match between USA and Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium on June 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.

U.S. men's national team players Folarin Balogun (left), Christian Pulisic, Antonee Robinson and Weston McKennie celebrate a goal vs. Paraguay in their 2026 World Cup opener. Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

The first men’s World Cup in North America in 32 years kicked off to big TV audiences, including records for the opening games of two of the co-hosts, the United States and Mexico.

The U.S. squad’s 4-1 win over Paraguay on Friday averaged some 25 million viewers on Fox (and its streaming outlets Tubi and Fox One), Telemundo and Peacock, based on preliminary Nielsen ratings and internal streaming data. A day earlier, Mexico opened the tournament with a 2-0 victory over South Africa, which more than 19 million viewers watched across all platforms.

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Javonte Williams #33 of the Dallas Cowboys carries the ball against the Green Bay Packers in the game at AT&T Stadium on September 28, 2025 in Arlington, Texas.

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Fox, Tubi and Fox One combined for 15.99 million viewers for the U.S.-Paraguay match, a record for a U.S. men’s national team game on English-language TV, the network says. Friday’s telecast beat out the 15.49 million viewers for the U.S.-England group stage game in the 2022 World Cup. (Both figures include pre-match coverage; the average for the match window alone will be higher.)

On Telemundo and Peacock, the U.S.-Paraguay game averaged 8.9 million viewers (match window only). That also goes down as a record for the most watched U.S. team World Cup game on Spanish-language TV.

The Mexico-South Africa game attracted 12.1 million viewers on Telemundo and Peacock, making it the most watched World Cup game, period, ever to run on Spanish-language TV in the United States. (The 2022 final between Argentina and France had 9 million viewers on Telemundo and Peacock.) On Fox and its streaming outlets, Mexico’s win delivered 7.19 million viewers.

FS1’s first game of the tournament, South Korea’s 2-1 win over Czechia on Thursday, brought in 3.07 million viewers, more than double the cable channel’s average for group stage games in 2022. Full ratings for the first four days of group-stage games will be available Tuesday afternoon.