The U.S. men’s national team’s win over Bosnia-Herzegovina was a net positive — on the field and on television.
USMNT’s 2-0 victory Wednesday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., drew historic ratings, with preliminary numbers showing the game averaged 24.429 million viewers, Fox Sports PR announced Thursday.
At its peak, the World Cup’s Round of 32 matchup had nearly 32 million viewers tuning in.
All told, the matchup was the most-watched English-language soccer telecast in United States history.
The U.S. has proved to be a ratings boon, starting with the team’s World Cup opener against Paraguay.
That 4-1 win drew 15,986,000 viewers, becoming, at the time, the most-watched USMNT telecast ever and the top-viewed FIFA Men’s World Cup Group Stage telecast in English-language U.S. history — at the time.
Overcoming a pair of overturned goals and a controversial red card against star Folarin Balogun on Wednesday, the USMNT advanced to set up a World Cup Round of 16 matchup against Belgium.
Before being issued the red card for stepping on Tarik Muharemovic’s ankle, Balogun kicked off the scoring for the USMNT in the 45th minute, sending the club into halftime on a high note.
U.S. midfielder Malik Tillman later added a curling free kick in the 82nd minute to propel the USMNT to the 2-0 win.
As the USMNT prepares for Belgium, it will do so without Balogun, whose red card leaves him ineligible for the Round of 16.
But Monday’s historic tilt is likely to challenge, if not surpass, viewership from the World Cup Round of 32 victory.
