USMNT vs – The United States’ 4–1 World Cup opener win over Paraguay in Los Angeles surged American TV audiences, with Fox’s English broadcast averaging 15.986 million viewers and Telemundo averaging 8.9 million Spanish-language viewers—highlighting how a prime-time home
The night the U.S. men’s national team took the field in Los Angeles, the numbers started stacking up. By the time kickoff had begun at 9 p.m. ET and the game moved into its final stretch, Fox’s English broadcast peaked at 18,860,000 viewers between 10:45 and 11 p.m. ET.
The match itself turned into a ratings magnet. The United States dominated Paraguay 4-1 in its World Cup opener, with Folarin Balogun scoring a brace. The second goal mattered beyond the scoreline: Balogun became the first multi-goal U.S. player in a World Cup match since 1930.
Fox said Saturday that it averaged 15,986,000 viewers for the English broadcast across Fox, Tubi and streaming on Fox One. The win more than doubled the U.S. team’s 2022 World Cup opener against Wales, which drew an average of 7,763,000 viewers.
The momentum didn’t stop at the English broadcast. Telemundo delivered an average of 8.9 million viewers in Spanish across Telemundo, Peacock and Telemundo streaming platforms. Per Telemundo, the broadcast was the most-watched U.S. national team World Cup match in Spanish ever.
Gio Reyna’s goal added another flashpoint for fans—coming at the same time as a pregnancy reveal that circulated alongside the game’s biggest moments. And the audience response reflected the stakes of hosting: Fox’s audience surge was boosted by the broadcast airing on home soil in prime time.
The early tournament signals are striking. In the opening days of the 2026 World Cup, Mexico’s tournament-opening win against South Africa on Thursday, June 11 averaged 6,310,000 million viewers on Fox, described as the largest English TV audience ever for a World Cup opener in the U.S.
For now, the ratings race looks less like a slow build and more like a fast ramp—driven by prime-time access, a familiar American hero in Balogun, and a U.S. performance that left little doubt on the scoreboard.
USMNT Paraguay World Cup 2026 TV ratings Fox Tubi Fox One Telemundo Peacock World Cup opener viewers Folarin Balogun Gio Reyna