A record-setting number of fans in the U.S. tuned in for England's win over Norway. Mauro Pimentel / Getty ImagesJuly 13, 2026 Updated 5:58 pm EDTAnother game, another U.S. TV record.Powered in part by England’s established U.S. fanbase and an equally widespread (if relatively newfound) fascination with World Cup uber-star Erling Haaland, Saturday’s World Cup match between England and Norway drew the largest TV audience ever for an English-language World Cup quarterfinal telecast in the U.S.The game on Fox averaged 19.48 million viewers, with a peak of nearly 25 million during extra time.Later that evening, Argentina-Switzerland drew just shy of 16 million viewers, making it the second most-watched English-language World Cup quarterfinal telecast in U.S. history.That capped a superlative week of World Cup TV viewing in the U.S., including the U.S. loss to Belgium, which was the most-watched soccer game in U.S. history. Ahead of that, Mexico-England’s match-up in the round of 16 became the most-watched Spanish-language soccer broadcast in U.S. history.One of the throughputs of the tournament has been consistently high TV ratings from U.S. viewers — on both Fox and Telemundo, which carries Spanish-language broadcasts in the U.S. — all month long, as the combination of U.S.-friendly kickoff times, star power, compelling narratives, contagious fan fervor and a revamped Nielsen audience-accounting methodology that more accurately captures factors like “out of home” viewing that is such a strong part of World Cup viewing culture.Given the tournament’s top four seeds are playing in the semifinals — France vs. Spain on Tuesday in Dallas, England vs. Argentina on Wednesday in Atlanta — and both games feature some of the world’s most popular players, like Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and Lionel Messi, audience interest should remain high, despite mid-week, mid-afternoon kickoff times that typically keep sports TV in the U.S. from reaching record-setting levels.But with this 2026 World Cup and its month-long run of sustained viewership, it would be folly to doubt fans’ enthusiasm to tune in.