England’s win against Mexico in the 2026 World Cup has been named the most watched football match in US TV history.
According to Fifa, 44.9 million viewers tuned into watch England win 3-2 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico, with nearly half of all active TV viewers in the country tuning in based on overnight audience data.
The federation’s stats also showed broadcaster Fox recorded the most-watched World Cup telecast not featuring the US men’s national team in the English language in the US, with an average audience of 21.7 million.
American Spanish language broadcaster Telemundo also achieved the most-watched Spanish-language football match in US television history, with a total audience of 23.2 million, breaking the record set by Mexico against Ecuador, according to Fifa.
The match saw a peak viewership of 9.1 million on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, despite kick-off being delayed from 1am to 2am due to the weather.
The game pulled in an average audience of 7.8 million across BBC One and BBC iPlayer, setting a new record for the largest television audience for a live UK broadcast between 2am and 4am in the process.
The previous record was set during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, when more than three million viewers watched Team GB stars Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis-Hill and Greg Rutherford clinch medals overnight.
England won the game thanks to two goals from Jude Bellingham and one from Harry Kane, with Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez scoring for Mexico.
The World Cup is currently being held in the US, Canada and Mexico, with England due to take on Norway on Saturday in Miami, with the game due to be shown on ITV.
