The World Cup is known for its fierce international rivalries: USA vs. Mexico; Brazil vs. Argentina; England vs. Germany. In the TV game within the game, there’s bad blood between FIFA World Cup 2026 broadcaster Fox Sports and rival ESPN, sources tell Front Office Sports.
Some Fox executives are frustrated at what they perceive as ESPN’s lack of coverage around the first men’s World Cup held in the U.S. since 1994. They were especially ticked off by ESPN’s apathetic approach to this past weekend, when the U.S. men’s national team convincingly defeated Paraguay 4-1 during a banner opening weekend.
“What a night for the United States,” noted Fox’s Rebecca Lowe. “70,000 are on their feet–and the U.S. has won a World Cup match by three goals for (the first time) since the very first World Cup in 1930.” Fox analyst Alexi Lalas thought Team USA’s dominant performance augured a deep run: “That was the perfect game.”
The U.S. men’s team has never won the World Cup. With Folarin Balogun scoring two goals, Team USA delivered a statement win on the global stage. But some Fox execs saw mostly crickets from the Worldwide Leader; especially on SportsCenter and other TV programs.
“We’re talking about a historic performance by Team USA. Where in the hell was ESPN?” asked one source.
