A new YouGov survey explores how Americans feel about the 2026 FIFA World Cup, including their level of interest, how much they’d pay for tickets to a match, and how far they think the U.S. men’s team will go in the tournament.

How interested are Americans in the World Cup? 13% say they are very interested, 16% say they are somewhat interested, and 14% say they are not very interested. A majority (54%) of Americans say they are not at all interested in the World Cup.

Adults under 45 are more likely than older Americans to be very interested in the World Cup (21% vs. 7%).

Most Americans (59%) say they expect they will not watch any World Cup matches. 16% say they will watch matches when they can, 11% say they will watch a few specific World Cup matches, and 5% say they will watch World Cup matches every day they’re on.

Among people who are very interested in the World Cup, 36% say they will watch matches every day they’re on and 49% say they will watch when they can.

Two-thirds (66%) of Americans who plan to watch at least a few FIFA World Cup matches say they prefer to watch games at home. Fewer prefer to watch at a bar or restaurant (13%), at someone else’s house (6%), or at a watch party (4%).

How much would Americans pay for a ticket to attend a World Cup match that includes the U.S. team? 14% say the most they would be willing to spend is under $100. 7% would pay between $100 and $299, 4% would pay $300 to $599, and 2% would pay $600 or more.

Among people who are very interested in the World Cup, 26% would pay between $100 and $299 for tickets to a match that includes the U.S. team. One-fifth (20%) would spend $300 to $599, and 12% say the most they would spend is between $600 and $999. 5% of people who are very interested in the World Cup say they would spend $1,000 or more.

For a World Cup match that doesn’t include the U.S. team, 13% of Americans say the most they would pay for a ticket is less than $100. 6% say the most they would pay for a ticket is between $100 and $299, 3% would pay between $300 and $599, and 2% would pay $600 or more.

Among people who are very interested in the World Cup, 23% say the most they would pay to attend a match that didn’t include the U.S. team is under $100. 30% say the most they would pay is between $100 and $299, and 13% say the most they would pay is between $300 and $599. 15% say the most they would pay is $600 or more, including 6% who would pay $1,000 or more.

Americans with an annual family income of $100,000 or more are slightly more likely than people with annual family incomes of $50,000 to $100,000 to say they would pay at least $100 for World Cup tickets to a match that includes the U.S. team (24% vs. 18%). Among people with annual family incomes of $50,000 or less, 7% would spend at least $100 on a ticket.

For matches that don’t include the U.S. team, 20% of people with annual family incomes of $100,000 or more say they would spend at least $100 for a ticket. 16% of people with annual family incomes of $50,000 to $100,000 say the same, as do 6% of people with annual family incomes below $50,000.

Which team do Americans think is most likely to win the World Cup? 12% of Americans think it will be the U.S. team, while 6% think Argentina’s men’s team will win it. 5% of Americans think Brazil’s team will win, 3% think France’s team will win, 2% think England’s team will win, and 2% think Spain’s team will win. For each of the other 24 teams, 1% or less think they will win the World Cup.

Among people who are at least somewhat interested in the World Cup, 22% think the U.S. men’s team will win. 14% think Argentina’s team will win, 11% think Brazil’s team will win, 8% think France’s team will win, and 6% think England’s team will win. (Spain and France are betting favorites and the U.S. is outside the top 10.)

30% of Americans say the team they most support in the World Cup is the U.S., though far more (46%) say they don’t support any team. Among people who are at least somewhat interested in the World Cup, 55% say the team they most support is the U.S., followed by Brazil (5%), Argentina (5%), France (5%), and Portugal (5%).

37% of Americans say they’d be happy to see the U.S. win the World Cup. Fewer would be happy to see Brazil (9%), England (9%), Mexico (8%), Argentina (7%), or Germany (6%) win the World Cup.

Among people who are at least somewhat interested in the World Cup, 65% would be happy to see the U.S. win the World Cup. 22% would be happy to see Brazil win, 20% would be happy to see England win, 18% would be happy to see Argentina win, and 16% would be happy to see Mexico win.

Few Americans (6%) think a World Cup win is the most likely fate for the U.S. 5% think it will lose in the final, 4% think it will lose in the semifinals, 7% think it will lose in the quarterfinals, 9% think it will lose in the round of 16, 4% think it will win a match but fall short of the knockout stage, and 3% think it will not win any matches.

Among people who are at least somewhat interested in the World Cup, 17% think the U.S. will win the World Cup. 10% think it will lose in the final, 10% think it will lose in the semifinals, and 17% think it will lose in the quarterfinals. 20% think it will lose in the round of 16, 7% think it will win a match without reaching the knockout stage, and 2% think it will not win any matches.

Related:

See the results for this YouGov survey

— Carl Bialik contributed to this article

Methodology: This article includes results from an online survey conducted on May 21 - 24, 2026 among 1,096 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 33% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4 percentage points.

Image: Getty (Kevin C. Cox / Staff)

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