Will The 2026 FIFA World Cup Finally Make America A Soccer Nation?

Forbes ^ | June 8, 2026 | Emil Steiner

[MinorityRepublican]

It’s time again for the quadrennial question: Can this be the World Cup that finally converts U.S. sports fans to soccer fanatics?

In 2026, the answer might be yes, or at least closer than ever. For the first time since 1994, the FIFA World Cup is being played on (North) American soil, and polling suggests an attitude shift. According to Numerator research, nearly a third of U.S. adults now plan to watch the 2026 tournament, up from 26% in January. YouGov data shows that 43% of U.S. sports fans cite hosting the tournament as a key reason they plan to tune in, which is the single biggest driver of viewership intent. And Nielsen reported in October that 37% of the general population expects their interest in soccer to grow over the next 18 months.

But pretournament enthusiasm and sustained fandom are different things. Before speculating on how this year will be different, it’s important to unpack why the world’s most popular sport has failed to capture and hold American audiences.

Why Soccer Never Became America’s Favorite Sport

NFL football is and has been the dominant U.S. television draw since the late 20th century. Even in our era of media fragmentation and atomized taste, American football consistently dominates the ratings, surviving along with election nights as one of our last durable media events. The Super Bowl remains the apotheosis of American ritualized mass viewing. In February 2025, 127.7 million viewers tuned in to watch the Philadelphia Eagles crush the Kansas City Chiefs, making it the most-watched single telecast in American history. Super Bowl LX, played this past February, hit a 15-minute peak of 137.8 million viewers during the second quarter.

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TOPICS: Sports
KEYWORDS: futbol; soccer

[Vaquero]

Yes. But only among the LGBTLMNOP community of fruit cups and bone smuggles

[Vaquero]

Yes. But only among the LGBTLMNOP community of fruit cups and bone smuggles

[Highest Authority]

What’s soccer??

[Highest Authority]

What’s soccer??

[Dr. Sivana]

Small sample sizes.

My observations are based on 50 years of observations in Connecticut, northern Illinois, Missouri, Virginia, Georgia and Arizona. It includes institutions that were too poor to have football. In Georgia, my boy was of prime Little League age, and his teammates played football in fall, NOT soccer. That was only last decade. Maybe your part of North Carolina is loaded with IT ex-pats that provide a skewed view.

The ONLY place I have seen soccer here in big-city Phoenix/Glendale/Mesa/Scottsdale outside of insular Latinos playing each other in parks was an overcrowded British-themed pub. All of the patrons (there WERE a lot of them) appeared to be European ex-pats watching a UK soccer match at noon (prime time in England), meaning we had to eat elsewhere. That is not a reflection of the society at large.

[Mouton]

NO

[RckyRaCoCo]

"Soccer is boring to watch, but it's fun to do...much like a fat chick"

(Bill Schulz)

[Berosus]

I live in Lexington, KY, a city preoccupied with college sports, especially basketball. Recently a full-fledged soccer park, with a stadium, was built on the southeast corner of the city; it opened last year, and you go right by the stadium if you drive past the city on Interstate 75. Still, soccer hasn’t caught on here yet. The locals are still more interested in football, basketball, or horse racing if it is in season. Nor have I seen any stories about the local soccer team in the news; maybe they are in the sports section of the newspaper.

[pburiak]

Even if Team USA pulls off a “Miracle On Grass”, it won’t change anything long-term as far as soccer’s popularity compared to the other major sports.

It is a niche sport in America and nothing is going to change that in my lifetime.

[GeorgiaDawg32]

I understand..

[Jim W N]

I hope not.

Me neither.

Soccer's a fun game to play but boring as hell to watch.

[Jim W N]

I hope not.

Me neither.

Soccer's a fun game to play but boring as hell to watch.

[packrat35]

Basketball is dropping rapidly. It is boring to almost everyone now. All 3’s all the time.

[Made In The USA]

If we import more losers from s-hole countries, then yes.

Soccer is already a well accepted sport in America. But in comparison to professional sports NFL or MLB, it is nothing.

[2nd Amendment]

Only if we turn gay enough!

[Resolute Conservative]

At the rate we are losing our culture to illegals the day is coming.

[Salvavida]

Sorry, the data is against your observations. That was a very cursory search confirming my observations. OTR trucking doesn’t keep a person in one side of a state, or in one state. It makes sense that an entire industry got rid of all the obstacles that kept it from growing in the past 60 years.

Meanwhile, MLB rosters are littered with Latin American players that don’t speak English because American kids don’t want to play. Particularly black kids.

The “participation” data is the key. That is money flowing a different direction.

https://firsttouchonline.com/the-growth-of-soccer-in-usa/
https://sfia.org/u-s-soccer-participation-data/
https://www.thepanthernewspaper.org/sports/analysis-soccers-continuing-growth-in-the-us
https://san.com/cc/underdog-no-more-how-soccer-is-surging-in-us-less-than-a-year-from-world-cup/

[MotorCityBuck]

It will for a month and a half.
First matches June 11th.
⚽️👍
Will be watching the matches downtown Detroit with thousands of others.

[july4thfreedomfoundation]

No.

Football in America involves an oval-shaped ball, not a round one.

[al_c]

Don’t forget ... the Hispanics love American Football too.