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Every time the US men’s national team takes the field, it’s going to draw a lot of eyes, but Wednesday’s game against Bosnia and Herzegovina was historic.
Preliminary numbers from Nielsen report that the broadcast on Fox averaged 24.43 million viewers, with the broadcast peaking at 31.88 million late in the game.
That was enough to make it the largest English-language audience for a football broadcast in American history.
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The knockout match between the United States and Bosnia-Herzegovina broke American viewership records. (Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Getty Images)
It just eclipsed the previous record holder — the 2015 Women’s World Cup final between the United States and Japan — which averaged 22.32 million viewers, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Telemundo’s Spanish telecast of the game brought in 9.1 million viewers for a total of 33.53 million, easily a record for a soccer game broadcast in the United States.
But what is new? This WC has been obliterating ratings records since it started.
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World Cup matches in the USA have received massive viewing figures. (Photo by Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
In the much-anticipated clash, the USA looked to win its first knockout match since 2002, bouncing back from a disappointing loss to Türkiye that ended the group stage.
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Meanwhile, Bosnia and Herzegovina looked to be playing spoiler after advancing from Group B as a third-place team hoping to eliminate the United States at home.
American forward Folarin Balogun’s controversial red card was one of the biggest moments in the team’s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images))
In the end, the USA came out with a 2-0 win, but it came at a cost. Star forward Folarin Balogun was headed for a wildly controversial red card that not only took him out of the game against Bosnia and Herzegovina — forcing the U.S. to play the final 25 minutes or so a man down — but also ruled him out of Monday’s round of 16 match against Belgium.
