US-Portugal game scores viewership goal

The United States' 2-2 World Cup draw with Portugal was almost certainly the most-watched soccer game ever in the US, an emphatic confirmation of the sport's rising popularity in a country slower to embrace it than the rest of the world.

The Nielsen company said Sunday's gripping game was seen by an average of 24.7 million viewers on ESPN and Univision. That matches it with the 24.7 million US viewers who watched the 2010 World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands.

ESPN said an additional 490,000 people streamed coverage of the game on their mobile devices through the company's app. Streaming numbers for 2010 were not immediately available, but it is very unlikely they were that high because streaming apps were not as sophisticated then.