The United States has World Cup fever.
The U.S. match against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday night was the most-watched soccer telecast in English language history with more than 24.4 million viewers, according to Fox Sports.
The peak audience was 31.8 million.
The United States won the game 2-0 in Santa Clara, California, to advance to the round of 16, marking its first knockout win since 2002.
The match topped the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final telecast in which 22.3 million viewers on English-language TV tuned in.
By comparison, the most-watched Super Bowl of all time came in 2025 when an average of 127.7 million viewers watched the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs across FOX, FOX Deportes, Telemundo, and Tubi. The peak average audience of 137.7 million viewers during the second quarter.
The most-watched combined U.S. audience during the World Cup so far was Mexico-Ecuador game with 29.3 million viewers overall.
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
United States' Malik Tillman (17) celebrates with Weston McKennie (8)after scoring his side's second goal during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between the United States and Bosnia in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
United States' Malik Tillman (17) celebrates with United States' Giovanni Reyna (7) after scoring on a free kick during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between the United States and Bosnia in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
United States' Malik Tillman (17) celebrates with teammates after scoring on a free kick during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between the United States and Bosnia in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
TORONTO (AP) — Goncalo Ramos headed in the stoppage-time winner as Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in a wild finish that also included a Croatian goal disallowed for offside just before the final whistle in a World Cup round of 32 match on Thursday night.
The game featured a matchup 40-somethings Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, in his sixth World Cup, and Croatia's Luka Modrić, making his fifth bid for a tournament title.
Ronaldo initially tied things up in the 68th minute on a penalty kick and give the megastar his first knockout stage goal at the World Cup before being subbed out in the 81st minute. But, it was Ramos who gave Portugal the victory and a berth in the round of 16.
Portugal moves on to face Spain on Monday.
“First half we dominated the game," Ronaldo said. "In second half after the goal we get a little bit panic, but this is football.
“After the penalty, I think it was a little bit better for us. We created a few chances and I think at the end of the day we deserved to win the match.”
The game ended in controversy as Croatia thought it had tied things up 2-2 in the very last moments, but Mario Pasalic was called offside as VAR ruled no goal. Croatia fans threw bottles on the field and whistled in protest.
Croatia opened the scoring in the 53rd minute when Ivan Perisic scored off a cross from Josip Sanisic.
Ronaldo, booed loudly by Croatia fans every time he touched the ball, got his chance from the spot after Nikola Vlasic was called for a holding foul inside the box. Portugal’s megastar hitched his step and converted down the middle as the goalkeeper went to his right.
Modrić led Croatia to second- and third-place finishes in 2018 and 2022, and the match carried the weight of the two aging stars each trying to realize the dream of winning the World Cup. Modrić is 40, while Ronaldo is 41.
The men, who were teammates at Real Madrid, shared a few smiles and an embrace ahead of the coin toss before the match. The two met on the pitch after the match, and hugged and exchanged a few words.
“I played with Luca so many years,” Ronaldo said. "We’re nearly the same age. I think he’s a legend of football. He’s still a legend of football.”
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Lexie Linderman is a student in John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State.
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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
Portugal's Renato Veiga gestures during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match against Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (7) scores on a penalty kick past Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic (1) during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Croatia's Luka Modric (10) reacts to a call as Portugal's Bernardo Silva (10) looks on during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (7) celebrates after scoring their opening goal during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Portugal's Ruben Dias (3) celebrates a win during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (7) celebrates after scoring their opening goal during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
