The FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinal between Morocco and France attracted a record-breaking U.S. television audience, becoming the most-watched FIFA Men’s World Cup quarterfinal ever broadcast in English in the United States, according to viewing figures released by FOX Sports.
The July 9 match, which saw France defeat Morocco 2-0 to advance to the semifinals, drew an average audience of 10.252 million viewers on FOX.
According to the broadcaster, viewership was 129% higher than the previous English-language quarterfinal record set during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, when Croatia’s victory over Brazil attracted 4.481 million viewers.
Audience numbers peaked at 13.589 million viewers between 5:15 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time, while the match was also the most-watched television program of the day across all U.S. networks, FOX said.
Boston, where the match was played at Gillette Stadium, recorded the highest local television rating, followed by San Francisco, Kansas City, Washington, D.C., and Richmond, according to Nielsen Media Research data published by FOX.
The strong audience reflects Morocco’s growing global appeal following another landmark World Cup campaign. After becoming the first African and Arab nation to reach a World Cup semifinal at Qatar 2022, the Atlas Lions again made history in 2026 by reaching the quarterfinals, finishing as the only African and Arab team to advance to the last eight of the tournament.
Under head coach Mohamed Ouahbi, Morocco progressed from a group featuring Brazil, Scotland and Haiti before eliminating the Netherlands on penalties and defeating Canada 3-0 in the round of 16. Their run ended against France in Boston, but the team’s performances drew widespread international attention and reinforced Morocco’s emergence as one of world football’s leading national teams.
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