The USMNT beat Bosnia-Herzegovina in the knockout round, watch parties packed bars across the country, and sportsbooks reported World Cup betting exceeding expectations. And still, only 2 in 10 Americans consider themselves soccer fans. The World Cup came to America's doorstep and most people didn't answer.
A new Ipsos Sports poll — 1,027 adults surveyed June 26-28, just before that Bosnia win — puts hard numbers on what anyone watching the lukewarm crowd reactions outside the stadium probably suspected. Only 17 percent of US adults are "extremely" or "very" excited about the rest of the tournament. That's up slightly from May, but it's a number that should sober up anyone who thought co-hosting a World Cup was going to flip a switch on the American sports psyche.
Fans are in — everyone else isn't watching
Among people who already follow soccer, the story is different. About 6 in 10 soccer fans were highly excited about the US reaching the knockout stage — a stage they hadn't won in since 2002, until this week. Fifty-five percent said the USMNT's group stage performance was going "extremely" or "very" well. The base is engaged. It's just not that big a base.
The split between fans and the general public shows up everywhere in this data. Three-quarters of soccer fans expect the World Cup to grow American interest in the sport. Only about half of non-fans think the same. And while 50 percent of soccer fans say the tournament has personally made them more interested, just 17 percent of non-fans say the same. You're either already in or you've barely noticed.
About one-third of US adults say they've heard "a lot" about the World Cup. Professional football, basketball, and baseball all sit well ahead of soccer in terms of fan identification. That hierarchy hasn't shifted — and one decent tournament run won't change it.
Where the engagement actually shows up
The participation numbers are more interesting than the apathy headlines suggest. Around 4 in 10 Americans have used social media to follow teams and players. A quarter have gone to a bar or restaurant to watch a game. Eight percent watched from an actual host city. And roughly 1 in 10 placed an official bet — with sportsbooks already flagging that World Cup handle has beaten projections, driven largely by USMNT results.
That betting figure matters. It suggests casual interest that doesn't show up in fan identification surveys — people who won't call themselves soccer fans but will throw $20 on a US win. That's a different kind of engagement, and a commercially valuable one, even if it doesn't mean America is becoming a soccer nation.
FIFA's handling of the tournament hasn't helped build goodwill, for what it's worth. Only a third of US soccer fans rated FIFA's role as going "very" or "extremely" well, with criticism landing on the mandated hydration breaks and the visa refusals tied to Iranian fans. About 55 percent of Americans have no opinion of FIFA at all — which is probably the most accurate summary of where this country stands on the global game.
