USMNT draw 33.5 million viewers in record World Cup win over Bosnia

USMNT win sets record with 33.5 million viewers

Your team is through to the last 16. United States 2–0 Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, and the numbers are staggering: 33.5 million Americans watched, making it the most-watched soccer broadcast in U.S. history (1). Fox alone drew 24.4 million for the English-language telecast, the biggest English-language soccer audience the country has ever seen (2).

Tillman's bloody sock moment

Malik Tillman scored from a direct free-kick, and he did it with a ripped boot and a bloodied sock (2). The goal was the first USMNT direct free-kick strike in a competitive match since Jozy Altidore in the 2017 Gold Cup Final, same stadium, same side of the pitch (2). Folarin Balogun added the second.

Fan reactions

Reddit lit up with the stats. One user pointed out the free-kick drought stretching back to Altidore's 2017 strike against Jamaica at the same venue (1). The combined Fox and Telemundo audience was the real story: Telemundo averaged 7.1 million for group-stage matches, meaning the total likely blew past 30 million when Spanish-language numbers landed (2).

See the full r/soccer thread