Viewing the positives of super-sized Cup

There are a lot of things that could have gone wrong during this summer's World Cup — a complicated logistical undertaking that included three host nations, 16 stadiums, 48 teams, 104 games and endless opportunities for controversy on and off the soccer field.

But in retrospect, a lot of things went right.

The United States, Canada and Mexico spent nearly six weeks hosting soccer's biggest showcase and — at least for the most part — the action stayed on the field.

US broadcaster Fox said Tuesday that the final, contested by Spain and Argentina, drew 38.9 million domestic viewers — including a peak of 51.7 million — which easily set the record as the most-watched English-language soccer telecast in US history, according to Nielsen Media Research. Spain won the final 1-0 in extra time.

Telemundo's preliminary numbers for its Spanish-language broadcast said the game had a total audience of 22.6 million, putting the total number of viewers in the US at more than 60 million.

Fox broadcast all 104 games in English on its platforms and television ratings remained high in the US even after the US team was eliminated by Belgium in the round of 16.

Spanish broadcasts on Telemundo were also a popular option — even for non-native speakers.

Fox averaged 7.7 million viewers for the 104 broadcasts on Fox, FS1 and Tubi — up from 3.58 million in 2022 and 2.77 million in 2018.

Though Nielsen's viewership numbers give a window into the World Cup final's widespread popularity, it's a challenge to reflect how many people actually watched since some viewed the game in group settings, such as watch parties.

In 2025, Nielsen expanded its out-of-home measurement system to try and get a more accurate count.

Attendance was good

Star players like Argentina's Lionel Messi, France's Kylian Mbappe and Norway's Erling Haaland became household names across North America, and, despite a few early hiccups and high ticket prices, most games featured packed stadiums with strong attendances throughout the US, Canada and Mexico.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino offered effusive praise to the host countries on Sunday.

"We have had a record number of spectators in the stadiums, almost seven million," Infantino said.

"We will have had, I mean the official figures will come out soon, but probably over six billion people watching it from home."

The weather cooperated

Fans and players from other countries found out what Americans, Canadians and Mexicans have known for a long time — it can get pretty hot in the summer, and climate change isn't helping matters.

But Mother Nature could have been a lot meaner than she decided to be.

Even so, there were a handful of games that featured particularly hot and muggy conditions.

The best example was a knockout-round game between Paraguay and France on July 4 in Philadelphia, when temperatures hovered around 38 C.

The World Cup final on Sunday also dodged a potential problem, when smoke from Canadian wildfires that wrapped the Northeast in haze had mostly cleared from the New Jersey area just in time thanks to some well-timed thunderstorms.

Size doesn't matter

This year's 48-team World Cup field was the biggest in history, and many thought it would water down the competition.

That wasn't the case.

Cape Verde held eventual champion Spain to a draw in its opening game, advanced to the round of 32 and gave Argentina a scare before losing 3-2 in extra time in a World Cup classic. The Democratic Republic of Congo also advanced beyond the group stage and pushed England all the way before losing late on, while Curacao was still in with a chance of making the knockouts going into its final group match.

After all the Cinderella stories were over, it was FIFA's top four ranked teams — England, Argentina, Spain and France — left to contest a heavyweight-packed semifinal round.

Politics can't be ignored

The World Cup is famously a petri dish for political conflict, and this year's edition provided its fair share.

Iran's participation in the tournament amid the war in the Middle East was a particularly thorny issue and the team had to move its base camp from Arizona to Mexico. The Iranians' participation was overshadowed by travel complaints and visa issues, with the US refusing visas to several members of Iran's delegation.

US President Donald Trump's relationship with Infantino was scrutinized after US striker Folarin Balogun's one-game ban for a red card was suspended ahead of the team's round of 16 game against Belgium.

Travel restrictions prevented fans of certain countries from traveling to the US, but there were no reports of the aggressive immigration enforcement that some had feared could take place around World Cup stadiums.

Infantino brushed aside most of the controversies, instead focusing on the positives. While the FIFA president has a vested interest in painting a rosy picture of this year's World Cup, there's little doubt that, from a soccer perspective, the tournament was a hit.

"I think we have to invent a new vocabulary, new words to define the success of this World Cup," Infantino said.

AP