The match between Morocco’s Atlas Lions and Brazil on June 13, during the opening round of Group C at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, set a historic television audience record in the United States.
According to Football365, the game, which ended in a 1-1 draw, attracted a peak audience of 13.119 million viewers between 7:45 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. On average, 10.019 million viewers watched the match on FOX.
FOX Sports noted that it is now the most-watched FIFA Men’s World Cup group-stage match not involving the United States national team in the history of English-language television in the U.S.
The achievement represents a remarkable increase compared to the 2022 World Cup. Viewership was up 212% compared with the average audience for group-stage matches without U.S. participation during the previous tournament, which stood at 3.21 million viewers.
The Atlas Lions will continue their World Cup campaign on Friday against Scotland, while Brazil is set to face Haiti.
