There have been a number of surveys and reports lately saying that the U.S. audience doesn’t care much about soccer, World Cup or no World Cup. 

But Stagwell’s The Harris Poll did a recent survey that found sharply growing enthusiasm among Americans for the sport.  

And those findings came before Team USA beat Bosnia and Herzegovina yesterday to advance to the round of 16, prompting assertions that this year’s US team is the best ever. 

Based on a May survey of 2,148 U.S. adults, the poll found that half of Americans are watching the World Cup. 

A little more than half (52%) said hosting the games on home soil is making Americans bigger fans. 

27% said they are more interested in soccer today than a year ago and about the same percentage attribute that growing interest to the World Cup. That’s 10 percentage points higher than a year ago when Harris Poll did its last soccer fandom survey. 

Millennials (62%), Hispanic Americans (63%) and hybrid workers (66%) are driving the soccer fandom surge. 

Gen Z’s new interest in the sport is being driven by social media – cited by 70% of new Gen Z fans, compared to 55% overall. 

And interest won’t stop when this summer’s Championship team is crowned, as 39% of Americans say they are interested in the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil. 

Sponsorship is being noticed – and it's changing minds, according to the poll. 51% say they've noticed brands sponsoring or advertising around the 2026 World Cup. 

Among those who have noticed 50% say they have a better opinion of those sponsoring companies. 

85% of dedicated fans say they hope their favorite brands get involved with the World Cup. 

“The 2026 World Cup is doing something our data rarely captures in real time: converting passive observers into active fans,” said Jennifer Musil, Global Head of Research, The Harris Poll.  

“More than 1 in 4 Americans say they're newly interested in soccer specifically because of this tournament. That's not just a sports story – it's a signal about how major cultural moments reshape consumer behavior.”