Soccer fans are into this year’s World Cup, but the US still isn’t a soccer nation, new poll finds

Soccer fans are into this year’s World Cup, but the US still isn’t a soccer nation, new poll finds 1 of 5 | People attend a watch party for a World Cup soccer match between the United States and Bosnia Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Washington, at the FIFA Fan Zone on the National Mall. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert) 2 of 5 | Fans celebrate after a United States goal during a watch party for a World Cup soccer match against Bosnia at the KC Live! entertainment district Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) 3 of 5 | United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino, left, celebrates with supporters following 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/Julio Cortez) 4 of 5 | United States’ Weston McKennie (8) and Christian Pulisic (10) celebrate winning 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/Eakin Howard) 5 of 5 | Supporters of the United States men’s national soccer team are arriving across the San Francisco Bay Area ahead of Wednesday’s FIFA World Cup knockout match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. 1 of 5 | People attend a watch party for a World Cup soccer match between the United States and Bosnia Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Washington, at the FIFA Fan Zone on the National Mall. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert) 1 of 5 People attend a watch party for a World Cup soccer match between the United States and Bosnia Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Washington, at the FIFA Fan Zone on the National Mall. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 5 | Fans celebrate after a United States goal during a watch party for a World Cup soccer match against Bosnia at the KC Live! entertainment district Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) 2 of 5 Fans celebrate after a United States goal during a watch party for a World Cup soccer match against Bosnia at the KC Live! entertainment district Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 3 of 5 | United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino, left, celebrates with supporters following 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/Julio Cortez) 3 of 5 United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino, left, celebrates with supporters following 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/Julio Cortez) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 4 of 5 | United States’ Weston McKennie (8) and Christian Pulisic (10) celebrate winning 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/Eakin Howard) 4 of 5 United States’ Weston McKennie (8) and Christian Pulisic (10) celebrate winning 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/Eakin Howard) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 5 of 5 Supporters of the United States men’s national soccer team are arriving across the San Francisco Bay Area ahead of Wednesday’s FIFA World Cup knockout match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Washington (AP) — This World Cup has given U.S. soccer fans plenty to cheer about — even if a new survey shows most Americans are still on the sidelines. New polling from Ipsos Sports, provided exclusively to The Associated Press, shows that the World Cup has excited soccer fans and piqued many Americans’ interest, even as the sport faces an uphill climb to reach mainstream popularity in the United States.Despite that challenge, many U.S. adults were excited about the United States making it to the knockout round of the World Cup. Most soccer fans in the U.S. have been pleased by the U.S. men’s national team performance, and the overwhelming majority are excited for the rest of the World Cup.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 knockout round. Soccer fans are excited by the USMNT’s performance About 6 in 10 soccer fans were “extremely” or “very” excited about the U.S. advancing to the knockout round, much higher than the 25% of Americans overall who said the same. Supporters of the United States men’s national soccer team are arriving across the San Francisco Bay Area ahead of Wednesday’s FIFA World Cup knockout match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The United States has historically lost once they reached the knockout rounds. Before Wednesday, they had last won a knockout game in 2002. Though this poll was conducted before the United States’ victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina, fans were already giving the U.S. men’s team credit for having a strong showing in the group stage. Most soccer fans, 55%, said the U.S. team’s performance was going “extremely well” or “very well.” One-quarter, roughly, believed it was going “somewhat well.” 1 MIN READ 1 MIN READ 4 MIN READ Similarly, about half of soccer fans say the United States’ role in co-hosting the World Cup is going at least “very” well. There’s less enthusiasm for FIFA’s role in managing the World Cup. Only about one-third of soccer fans in the U.S. say that’s going “extremely” or “very” 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. 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 U.S. adults have a positive view of FIFA, while 25% have a negative one. Most Americans — 55% — don’t have an opinion. Will this be the moment Americans turn to soccer? Probably notIt’s not easy to get Americans to care about soccer, even with the World Cup in their backyard. Only about 2 in 10 Americans consider themselves fans of international or U.S. 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 “a lot” about the World Cup, though most have heard at least “a little.” Roughly 2 in 10 U.S. adults — 17% — say they are “extremely” or “very” excited about the rest of the World Cup. That’s up a smidge from Ipsos polling in May, but points to the challenge that comes with trying to turn America into a soccer nation.Most Americans expect that the World Cup will increase other Americans’ interest in soccer, but relatively few say they have personally gotten more interested in the sport. About 6 in 10 U.S. adults think Americans in general will get more into soccer because of the World Cup, while 24% say they personally have. Soccer fans are especially optimistic, though. About three-quarters of soccer fans in the U.S. expect this year’s World Cup will increase Americans’ 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% of non-fans say the same. Many Americans will watch games or follow on social mediaOutside of watching games, there are other ways for people to engage with the World Cup. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults — including about half of soccer fans — say they have used social media to keep up with teams and players.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 U.S. adults — and 33% of soccer fans in the U.S. — say they have bought official merchandise like team jerseys, posters or scarves. As sportsbooks note how World Cup betting has exceeded expectations amid the USMNT’s success, about 1 in 10 Americans in the poll say they have placed an official bet on the games. About 5% say they have traded on game outcomes using a prediction market. And with official and unofficial watch parties popping up in host cities across the United States, 8% say they have watched a game from a host city. ___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.___See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here Sanders is a polls and surveys analyst for The Associated Press. She develops and writes about AP-NORC polls, works on the AP Voter Poll and covers shifts in public opinion.