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.
Fox said Tuesday that the Spain-Argentina final drew 38.937 million viewers — including a peak of 51.685 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.
Star players like Argentina’s Lionel Messi, France’s Kylian Mbappé and Norway’s Erling Haaland became household names across North America, television ratings remained high in the US even after the Americans were eliminated and despite high ticket prices, most games featured packed stadiums.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino gave effusive praise to the host countries on Sunday.
