Spain’s victory over Argentina in Sunday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup final broke records in the United States: an average of 38,937,000 viewers watched it on Fox, making it the most-watched soccer broadcast in American television history and the most-watched FIFA World Cup final ever in the U.S., according to Nielsen.

Meanwhile, on the Spanish side, Telemundo and Peacock attracted 23.9 million viewers to the World Cup final, also making it the most-watched soccer match in Spanish-language television history.

Combined, that represents a record 62.8 million viewers watching the game on Sunday, July 19.

On Fox, the numbers skyrocketed at 5:45 p.m., as 51,685,000 viewers watched as Spain secured the only goal of the match, cementing their 1-0 extra-time victory over Argentina.

The final increased by 132% compared to the 2022 FIFA World Cup final in Qatar (France vs. Argentina, Sunday morning, December 18, 2022, with an average of 16,784,000 viewers) and 240% more than the 2018 FIFA World Cup final in Russia (France vs. Croatia, Sunday, July 15, 2018, tomorrow, with 11,441,000 spectators).

The thriller of a World Cup final was completely dominated by Spain, who controlled the ball practically from the beginning of the match. But despite Spain’s multiple shots, Argentina skillfully defended their goal, forcing the match to be prolonged. Finally, in the 106th minute, substitute Ferran Torres scored a goal for Spain, securing them victory in the World Cup and denying Argentina a consecutive victory.

Spain’s victory’s 38,937,000 viewers surpassed what had previously been the most-watched soccer broadcast on U.S. English-language television, set by the U.S. men’s national team’s loss to Belgium in the round of 16, which drew 33,089,000 viewers.

In addition to Spain’s victory, the World Cup final included its first on-field halftime show, organized by FIFA and Global Citizen, with Coldplay’s Chris Martin curating the show (in his role as international curator of the Global Citizen Festival) and Done+Dusted as producer. Among those who performed: Madonna, Justin Bieber, BTS, Shakira, Burna Boy, PS22 Choir with Coldplay, the New York Philharmonic and the Simón Bolívar Venezuela Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, and the Muppets.

The World Cup final was a success all over the world: as Variety As previously reported, within the winning country, Spain, the final averaged 15.7 million viewers and an extraordinary 87.1% audience share on RTVE’s La 1, regional broadcaster 3Cat, La 2 and DAZN, reaching a cumulative total of 20.1 million people.

Last week, both World Cup semi-final matches also broke records, including last Wednesday’s match between Argentina and England which averaged 15.063 million viewers on Fox, becoming the most-watched FIFA Men’s World Cup semi-final match in English history.

In total, the 2026 FIFA World Cup averaged 7.74 million viewers on Fox, FS1 and Tubi across 104 matches, 116% more than in 2022 (3.59 million) and 179% more than in 2018 (2.77 million). That made it the most watched in the history of American television. Meanwhile, Telemundo and Peacock achieved the most watched World Cup in the history of American television in Spanish, with 6.3 million viewers, 143% more than in 2022 (2.6 million).

On Saturday, the third-place match between France and England drew 13,130,000 viewers on Fox, making it the most-watched third-place FIFA Men’s World Cup telecast in U.S. history (surpassing the 2010 Uruguay-Germany match, which had 4,755,000 viewers). Telemundo/Peacock coverage of the third-place match between France and England averaged 7.7 million viewers, making it the most-watched third-place match in Spanish-language media history (a 225% increase compared to 2022’s Croatia vs. Morocco, which had 2.4 million viewers).

The 39-day World Cup generated windfalls in viewership and sponsorship for Fox and Telemundo/Peacock. With Fox performing well, rivals are now potentially considering bidding for the next World Cup (for which Fox paid $485 million in 2026). Some reportedly interested suitors include Netflix, ESPN, YouTube and Apple.