See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy JACK BEZANTS, US DEPUTY SPORTS EDITOR Published: 22:29 BST, 2 July 2026 | Updated: 22:50 BST, 2 July 2026
Momentum is growing like never before around the United States team at the World Cup - and it is not just on the field.Fox have announced record viewership for Wednesday night's 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in San Francisco, with their broadcast peaking at an astonishing 31.883million. It makes it the most-watched soccer telecast in English-language US history, with around 24.5 million watching the whole thing. For context, the average viewership for the Sunday Night Football NFL slot during the 2025 season came in at around 23.5million - a record in itself for NBC.Fox paid $485million to hold the World Cup rights in the United States while NBC is believed to have splashed out around $2billion for the NFL rights.And there's at least one more USA game to come. Mauricio Pochettino's team advanced into the last-16 of the tournament with a hard-fought and dramatic win, playing the last 30 minutes with 10 men after star striker Folarin Balogun was sent off. USA stars Sebastian Berhalter and Weston McKennie celebrate the win over Bosnia Star striker Folarin Balogun was sent off after tangling with Bosnia's Tarik MuharemovicBalogun scored the first goal for the USA before Malik Tilmann made the game safe without him, scoring a stunning free-kick to send the host nation into the next round.They will meet European heavyweights Belgium in Seattle on Monday night back on Fox. Balogun, who has scored three goals for the USA so far in the tournament, is suspended for the encounter.The striker was shown a straight red card after a collision with Bosnian player Tarik Muharemovic. As he tussled for the ball, the USA man's foot landed on the back of his opponent's leg, raking down his calf before landing on the defender's ankle. FIFA rules prevent the US from protesting the decision – unless Balogun's ban is increased. But whatever happens, he will definitely miss Monday's last-16 clash against Belgium. 'For me it's never a red card. Watching it after on TV, it was never the intention, to step onto the player, it's a normal action in football that happens by accident,' the manager Pochettino said. 'It's never intentional. It's never a red card.' Star man Christian Pulisic echoed the thoughts of his manager, insisting it 'seems ridiculous' that Balogun will miss the Belgium game for that challenge. 'It's just so unfortunate. It's disappointing,' he added.
