{"id":4100,"date":"2026-07-02T15:04:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T15:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4100"},"modified":"2026-07-02T15:04:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T15:04:53","slug":"soccer-fans-are-into-this-years-world-cup-but-the-us-still-isnt-a-soccer-nation-new-poll-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4100","title":{"rendered":"Soccer fans are into this year\u2019s World Cup, but the US still isn\u2019t a soccer nation, new poll finds"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 This World Cup has given US soccer fans plenty to cheer about \u2014 even if a new survey shows most Americans are still on the sidelines.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more During traffic stop, Dianna Russini appeared to show off her NFL access<\/a><\/p>\n

New polling from Ipsos Sports, provided exclusively to The Associated Press, shows that the World Cup has excited soccer fans and piqued many Americans\u2019 interest, even as the sport faces an uphill climb to reach mainstream popularity in the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite that challenge, many US adults were excited about the United States making it to the knockout round of the World Cup. Most soccer fans in the US have been pleased by the US men\u2019s national team performance, and the overwhelming majority are excited for the rest of the World Cup.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The poll was conducted June 26-28, after the United States advanced from the group stage but before they won against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the first knockout round.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Soccer fans are excited by the USMNT\u2019s performance <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

About 6 in 10 soccer fans were \u201cextremely\u201d or \u201cvery\u201d excited about the US advancing to the knockout round, much higher than the 25 percent of Americans overall who said the same.<\/span><\/p>\n

The United States has historically lost once they reached the knockout rounds. Before Wednesday, they had last won a knockout game in 2002.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though this poll was conducted before the United States\u2019 victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina, fans were already giving the US men\u2019s team credit for having a strong showing in the group stage. Most soccer fans, 55 percent said the US team\u2019s performance was going \u201cextremely well\u201d or \u201cvery well.\u201d One-quarter, roughly, believed it was going \u201csomewhat well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, about half of soccer fans say the United States\u2019 role in co-hosting the World Cup is going at least \u201cvery\u201d well.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s less enthusiasm for FIFA\u2019s role in managing the World Cup. Only about one-third of soccer fans in the US say that\u2019s going \u201cextremely\u201d or \u201cvery\u201d well. During the tournament, FIFA has faced criticism for enforcing mandated hydration breaks that some say ruin the momentum of games, as well as cooperating with travel restrictions and visa refusals against Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n

The poll found Americans and soccer fans alike are about evenly split on whether they have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of FIFA. About 2 in 10 US adults have a positive view of FIFA, while 25 percent have a negative one. Most Americans \u2014 55 percent \u2014 don\u2019t have an opinion.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Will this be the moment Americans turn to soccer? Probably not<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s not easy to get Americans to care about soccer, even with the World Cup in their backyard.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Finally, Mass. legislators close the loophole that gave cover to sexual predators<\/a><\/p>\n

Only about 2 in 10 Americans consider themselves fans of international or US soccer, far behind the share who root for professional football, basketball or baseball. And roughly one-third of U.S. adults say they have heard or read \u201ca lot\u201d about the World Cup, though most have heard at least \u201ca little.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Roughly 2 in 10 US adults \u2014 17 percent \u2014 say they are \u201cextremely\u201d or \u201cvery\u201d excited about the rest of the World Cup. That\u2019s up a smidge from Ipsos polling in May, but points to the challenge that comes with trying to turn America into a soccer nation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most Americans expect that the World Cup will increase other Americans\u2019 interest in soccer, but relatively few say they have personally gotten more interested in the sport. About 6 in 10 US adults think Americans in general will get more into soccer because of the World Cup, while 24 percent say they personally have.<\/span><\/p>\n

Soccer fans are especially optimistic, though. About three-quarters of soccer fans in the US expect this year\u2019s World Cup will increase Americans\u2019 general interest in soccer, compared to about half of non-soccer fans. And roughly half of soccer fans say the World Cup has increased their own interest in the sport, even if only 17 percent of non-fans say the same.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Many Americans will watch games or follow on social media<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Outside of watching games, there are other ways for people to engage with the World Cup.<\/span><\/p>\n

About 4 in 10 US adults \u2014 including about half of soccer fans \u2014 say they have used social media to keep up with teams and players.<\/span><\/p>\n

Roughly one-quarter of Americans have gone to a restaurant or bar to watch a game or plan to do so, and about 2 in 10 have gone to a World Cup watch party. About 2 in 10 US adults \u2014 and 33 percent of soccer fans in the US \u2014 say they have bought official merchandise like team jerseys, posters or scarves.<\/span><\/p>\n

As sportsbooks note how World Cup betting has exceeded expectations amid the USMNT\u2019s success, about 1 in 10 Americans in the poll say they have placed an official bet on the games. About 5 percent say they have traded on game outcomes using a prediction market.<\/span><\/p>\n

And with official and unofficial watch parties popping up in host cities across the United States, 8 percent say they have watched a game from a host city.<\/span><\/p>\n

___<\/span><\/p>\n

The Ipsos Sports poll of 1,027 adults was conducted June 26-28 using a sample drawn from the Ipsos probability-based KnowledgePanel. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Trump Accounts launch July 4, giving newborns $1,000. Here\u2019s what to know.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The poll was conducted June 26-28, after the United States advanced from the group stage but before they won against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the first knockout round.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\nSoccer fans are into this year\u2019s World Cup, but the US still isn\u2019t a soccer nation, new poll finds - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4100\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Soccer fans are into this year\u2019s World Cup, but the US still isn\u2019t a soccer nation, new poll finds - 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