England's 3-2 victory over Mexico in the 2026 World Cup has set a new record as the most watched football match in US television history, according to FIFA. The game, played at Estadio Azteca in Mexico, drew 44.9 million viewers across US broadcasters, with nearly half of all active TV viewers in the country tuning in based on overnight audience data.
Record-Breaking Viewership
FIFA's statistics revealed that Fox recorded the most-watched World Cup telecast not featuring the US men's national team in the English language in the US, with an average audience of 21.7 million. Meanwhile, Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo achieved the most-watched Spanish-language football match in US television history, with a total audience of 23.2 million, breaking the previous record set by Mexico against Ecuador.
UK Audience Records
In the UK, the match peaked at 9.1 million viewers on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, despite a delayed kick-off from 1am to 2am due to weather conditions. The average audience of 7.8 million set a new record for the largest television audience for a live UK broadcast between 2am and 4am, surpassing the previous record set during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics when over three million viewers watched Team GB athletes Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis-Hill, and Greg Rutherford win medals overnight.
Match Summary
England secured the win with two goals from Jude Bellingham and one from Harry Kane, while Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez scored for Mexico. The World Cup is currently being held across the US, Canada, and Mexico. England is scheduled to face Norway on Saturday in Miami, with the match to be broadcast on ITV.
