The numbers are in, and they’re not subtle. Nineteen million people watched the United States Men’s National Team beat Paraguay on FOX. Add in Spanish-language viewers on Telemundo and Peacock, and that number jumps to 26 million. For context: Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration last year pulled 24.6 million across all major networks. The Knicks’ NBA Finals clincher, which happened the day after that US win, averaged 20.6 million per game.
This is not a blip. The US is hosting the World Cup, and Americans are watching like never before. FOX Sports paid $485 million for the rights, and so far that looks like a bargain. The US’s other two group games never dipped below 23 million total viewers. The only unassailable mountain on American television remains the Super Bowl — 19 of the 20 most-watched broadcasts in US history are NFL title games, each topping 120 million. But this tournament is creating its own gravity.
The Knockout Path Is at Hand
Winning Group D earned the US a last-32 matchup against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Santa Clara on Wednesday. Tickets are going for $1,200, making it the third-most expensive event ever at the 49ers’ stadium, behind two Super Bowls. The 75,000-seat venue will be overwhelmingly red, white and blue, with a small, loud pocket of Bosnian supporters dressed in blue.
Bosnia is ranked 64th in the world. On paper, this is as soft an ask as Mauricio Pochettino could have hoped for. But the manager isn’t buying that narrative.
“A game like tomorrow is 85 percent, maybe 90 percent emotional,” Pochettino said in his pre-match press conference. “If we can reduce that, to 70, 60, 50, in order to play and wait to put in the emotional side at the end, I think it’s much better. But it’s difficult to reduce for both teams. In soccer, unpredictable things can happen but we’re trying to reduce that. To play free, and enjoy it.”
He added: “I don’t believe we are the favorites.”
Bosnia nearly went out in qualifying. They were five minutes from elimination when 40-year-old Edin Dzeko scored a tying goal in the semifinals, then they beat Wales and Italy on penalties. Pochettino’s men will want to avoid that lottery. The good news: Christian Pulisic is fully fit after resting for most of the dead-rubber loss to Turkey. He lit up the first half against Paraguay and has had 12 days off since.
“I felt great in the game, the last game against Turkey,” Pulisic said Tuesday. “So feeling good this week and definitely ready for tomorrow.”
History Says the Ceiling Is Low. This Team Doesn’t Care.
The US’s best World Cup finish came in 1930, when they reached the semifinals. Only 13 teams competed. A Spanish-language newspaper called their style “monotonous and sometimes childish.” In 2002, the US made the quarterfinals, losing 1-0 to eventual finalists Germany. That win over Mexico in the Round of 16 remains the program’s only knockout victory in the modern era.
This group has a chance to change that legacy. A win over Bosnia sets up a Round of 16 game against either Belgium or Senegal in Seattle. Neither is an easy out — Belgium is a top-tier European side even if their golden generation has aged, and Senegal was an AFCON finalist. A likely quarterfinal against Spain in Los Angeles would be the real test.
But Pochettino has his players believing. They dismantled Paraguay in one of the best performances of the tournament, then ground out a mature win over Australia in a deafening Seattle stadium. The next game is in the Bay Area, and the energy won’t drop.
“For us it’s the final of the World Cup tomorrow,” Pochettino said. “If we don’t think in this way, we are going to struggle. We saw yesterday that no game is easy for anyone. It’s all in. If we go through, then it’s another final.”
Canada and Mexico, the other co-hosts, already advanced. Now it’s the US’s turn to prove those viewership numbers mean something on the field.
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