North America has emerged as a market that doesn’t follow the rules soccer follows in European and Asian nations. While it’s no secret that the men’s side of the game is disproportionately more popular in most parts of the world, the women’s side of the sport is making strides. And the USA is one of the rare places where women’s soccer hasn’t just caught up but has led.

Well, you could blame the lack of the USMNT’s lackluster performances compared to the USWNT’s success on the international stage. After all, the women of Team USA have won the FIFA World Cup four times, and as recently as 2019. Compare that to the USMNT, and the record doesn’t really hold up. The men’s team’s best finish ever was reaching the inaugural 1930 World Cup semifinal.

Now that may not be an apples-to-apples comparison, as the worldwide popularity of the FIFA Women’s World Cup falls well below its men’s counterpart. The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup engaged 2 billion people across the globe, with the finals drawing 222.02 million global viewers. Meanwhile, the 2022 Men’s World Cup engaged 5 billion, with a record 1.5 billion soccer fans tuning in for the final. However, the United States has flipped the script on this trend as well.

That’s because the 2025 Women’s Euro just beat the Club World Cup viewership record in America. FOX Sports, which broadcast the 2025 Euro final between England and Spain, reported the record-breaking viewership milestone. “The UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 Final drew 1.3M+ viewers on FOX, making it the most-watched Women’s EURO Final in English-language US history!” they posted on X.

That’s more than the recent Club World Cup, which set the MetLife Stadium soccer attendance record at 81,118 during the final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain. However, the Euro finals’ 1.355 million viewers were more than the Club World Cup average of 1.3 million, as per Associated Sports. Although the Club World Cup did have a higher peak viewership of 1.8 million, topping the average of a final between two of the world’s most popular men’s soccer clubs is a huge achievement.

It’s especially impressive when you consider that the USWNT is part of the Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football and can’t even qualify for the Euros. However, it seems the American women’s soccer icons playing overseas, like Lindsey Horan, Emily Fox, and others, have done enough to generate this historic interest. That being said, the MLS is gaining momentum as well.

When both sides grow, soccer thrives

It’s pretty apparent that fans are well aware of the brewing popularity contest between the men’s and women’s sides of the sport in America. Take Reddit co-founder and women’s sports advocate Alexis Ohanian, for example. The man who, among the founders of Angel City FC, invested in Chelsea Women’s FC and founded Athlos, claimed that the NWSL will surpass the MLS in a decade’s time.

However, the leagues already seem to be trading blows on viewership, as the Togethxr revealed the average viewership for both leagues. “NWSL average viewership per game: 189,000; MLS average viewership per game: 120,000,” the page posted on X. While their post was to highlight the pay disparity between the men and the women despite the NWSL averaging more views, the point remains.

Not just the USWNT, but the National Women’s Soccer League also seems to be a match for the MLS. Then again, Major League Soccer is also on an upward trajectory after struggling to get off the ground for years. The 2023 MLS Cup finals saw 890,000 viewers tuning in, which was a big drop compared to previous years. However, with Messi’s arrival and Apple TV signing the broadcast deal, the numbers have recovered.

The MLS went from struggling to bring in fans to becoming the fastest-growing major league sport in terms of revenue. The latest reports show Major League Soccer growing 18%, which is even more than the far more established (in North America) sport of baseball, with the MLB growing 16%. Now, even more soccer icons, such as Thomas Muller, Son Heung-Min, and others, are reportedly ready to join the MLS.

All this and the success of the Club World Cup have produced some optimistic predictions for the 2026 World Cup. While critics raised attendance concerns after four CWC games failed to bring in more than 10,000 fans in the stadium, the massive finals turnout drowned out the negativity. The FIFA president only added to the good news, saying the CWC averaged 40,000 per match.

“There is no league in the world with that number, except the Premier League,” said Gianni Infantino. Now, a report co-authored by Oxford Economics-affiliated Tourism Economics has predicted that New York and New Jersey alone will draw 1.2 million soccer fans, who’ll provide a $3.3 billion economic boost to the cities. Now you may be wondering why I’m bringing this up.

That’s because the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the biggest edition of the tournament in history. 48 teams will battle for one trophy, and the USA will be one of the host nations. Needless to say, the record-breaking Euro finals viewership number has proved that the interest in international soccer is only increasing. So not only does that make those World Cup predictions look even better, but it also opens the door for unprecedented future success for both women’s and men’s soccer in America.