Now that we are in the knockout stages of the World Cup, soccer’s highest governing body, FIFA, has claimed that the tournament in the Gulf Nation is already generating record audiences around the world.
In the United States, coverage of the national team’s match against England amassed the record for the most-watched men’s soccer match in the country’s history with a peak audience of 19.65 million viewers on FOX.
Additionally, NBC Universal’s Telemundo Spanish-language coverage of the same match was the second match seen in the World Cup group stage in Spanish-language history.
Clash of Mexico breaks records
In neighboring Mexico, the national team’s group stage clash against Argentina had a national audience of 20.96 million viewers.
This represented a 67.9% share across all broadcast channels, which was significantly higher than any televised World Cup match held in Russia in 2018.
La Albiceleste won the match 2-0 keeping their tournament hopes alive with 8.48 million viewers watching their favorite stars in Argentina.
A similar pattern was seen in Europe, garnering staggering viewership numbers.
More than 11.9 million viewers watched the tie between Spain and Germany, in what was arguably the most anticipated clash in the group stage.
65% of people saw Luis Enrique’s team face the Germans, an audience record, surpassing any of the group stage matches played in Russia four years ago.
Also in the Netherlands, more than three-quarters of the country watched their team draw 1-1 against Ecuador, a record television audience in 2022.
Elsewhere in France, more than 14.6 million people watched Kylian Mbappe’s latest goal against Denmark. This was just slightly above the 14 million viewers who also tuned in for Les Blues’ opening 4-1 win over Australia.
With Asian teams doing well, it’s no surprise that World Cup fever is running high on the continent.
More than 36.37 million viewers watched Japan’s narrow 1-0 loss to Costa Rica after the Asian team stunned Germany 2-1 in their first match. This was 74% higher than the average group stage audience during the World Cup four years ago.
Also in South Korea, 11.14 million people watched the 0-0 draw with Uruguay. This was a staggering 97% increase in viewership compared to the group stage matches at Brazil 2014 and a higher 18% at Russia 2018.
Photo credit: IMAGO / Wolfgang Maria Weber
World Cup 2022 Guide
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