The 2022 FIFA World Cup has once again dominated audience numbers in terms of football games, with some surprises along the way for experts to consider.
The age of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in international football is fast approaching, but it seems that fans want to see more of Kylian Mbappé and other players, as the game with the largest audience numbers featured the PSG ace against England.
As for the other two footballers, the battle between Argentina and the Netherlands was the second most-watched game in the U.S., while Portugal's exit from the competition was seen by over 5.5 million viewers, giving that game the final place in the podium.
Spanish-speaking audiences were also in agreement with the numbers shown by English broadcasts, as the game between England and Les Bleus narrowly defeated Argentina's clash against the Netherlands in their particular fight for the top spot. The third place in Spanish also went to Morocco's win over Portugal, narrowly missing 2 million viewers in the country.
This is the full list of games that caught the most attention in the U.S. in the past week.
(All featured games were played in the FIFA World Cup)
FOX
Monday, December 5
Japan 1(1)-(3)1 Croatia at 9:44 a.m. ET
Average viewers: 2,950,000
Viewership rating: 1.33
Brazil 4-1 South Korea at 1:43 p.m. ET
Average viewers: 3,605,000
Viewership rating: 1.62
Tuesday, December 6
Morocco 0(3)-(0)0 Spain at 9:44 a.m. ET
Average viewers: 3,094,000
Viewership rating: 1.34
Portugal 6-1 Switzerland at 1:44 p.m. ET
Average viewers: 3,590,000
Viewership rating: 1.64
Friday, December 9
Croatia 1(4)-(2)1 Brazil at 9:42 a.m. ET
Average viewers: 4,481,000
Viewership rating: 1.91
Netherlands 2(3)-(4)2 Argentina at 1:43 p.m. ET
Average viewers: 6,440,000
Viewership rating: 2.70
Saturday, December 10
Morocco 1-0 Portugal at 9:43 a.m. ET
Average viewers: 5,624,000
Viewership rating: 2.72
England 1-2 France at 1:42 p.m. ET
Average viewers: 8,855,000
Viewership rating: 3.89
Telemundo
Monday, December 5
Japan 1(1)-(3)1 Croatia at 9:30 a.m. ET
Average viewers: 1,139,000
Viewership rating: 0.61
Brazil 4-1 Switzerland at 1:30 p.m. ET
Average viewers: 1,965,000
Viewership rating: 0.98
Tuesday, December 6
Morocco 0(3)-(0)0 Spain at 9:30 a.m. ET
Average viewers: 1,392,000
Viewership rating: 0.66
Portugal 6-1 Switzerland at 1:30 p.m. ET
Average viewers: 1,944,000
Viewership rating: 0.88
Friday, December 9
Croatia 1(4)-(2)1 Brazil at 9:30 a.m. ET
Average viewers: 1,757,000
Viewership rating: 0.87
Netherlands 2(3)-(4)2 Argentina at 1:30 p.m. ET
Average viewers: 3,096,000
Viewership rating: 1.36
Saturday, December 10
Morocco 1-0 Portugal at 9:30 a.m. ET
Average viewers: 1,974,000
Viewership rating: 0.99
England 1-2 France at 1:30 p.m. ET
Average viewers: 3,102,000
Viewership rating: 1.34
