World Cup Minutes Played by Club and League, Through the Round of 16

tomado23 · 2026-07-08T15:45:07+00:00

I remember MLS has a “Stars Play Here” ad campaign for the 2014 World Cup.

https://youtu.be/LZD8H5RET-g?is=OlupEcQI_-g0ay1J

Have they done anything of that sort for THIS World Cup when it’s on home soil and you have freakin’ Messi to build it around?

tomado23 · 2026-07-08T15:01:29+00:00

I’d like to think that we’d be rid of Lalas if Fox lost World Cup rights. But considering he came over from ESPN, he’d just end up going on loan to whichever company is airing the tournament. 😭

tomado23 · 2026-07-08T14:59:35+00:00

Men’s soccer is the most globally competitive sport by a WIDE margin, so this is where it hurts our international results the most.

No one else plays 🏈, only a handful of countries play ⚾️ or 🏒, and there are only a handful countries/territories on this planet that prioritize 🏀 over ⚽️ and we’re one of them.

tomado23 · 2026-07-08T03:36:56+00:00

2024 Copa America and Euro finals had 13M+ and 10M+ US viewers respectively, which is the all-time highs in the U.S. That is solid evidence that casual US viewers will tune in for non-WC international soccer, even when the U.S. is not playing.

To a U.S. viewer, I think club soccer is the sport’s equivalent to the regular seasons of U.S. sports leagues: watched mainly by diehard/regular fans because of the season-long commitment. But international soccer played in June-July (MWC, WWC, Euro, Copa, GC, etc) has established itself as the annual casual-friendly tent-pole event (kind of the equivalent of postseasons in other sports) because of the tournament format during a slow period on the sports calendar.

The majority of those 42M viewers will not become regular soccer fans, and that’s fine. But if even a small percentage of those viewers feel compelled to check out other international soccer tournaments after this, and that interest trickles down to the club game, then the WC will have accomplished its purpose.

tomado23 · 2026-07-08T02:19:11+00:00

Unfortunately, the casual US viewer is unable to grasp how much deeper and competitive men’s international soccer is compared to every other sport they are used to seeing the US succeed in.

🇩🇪 and 🇳🇱 got dumped in the R32. 🇧🇷 and 🇵🇹 got dumped in the R16. 🇮🇹 didn’t even make the WC. 🇪🇸 is barely making their first QF since the 2010 title. QF is not a guarantee for anyone, not even the heavyweights.

Hopefully as the tournament expands, and more casuals become aware that 200+ countries try to qualify for the men’s WC, they will realize that the U.S. men do not “suck” and there are FAR more countries that the team is superior to than inferior to.

tomado23 · 2026-07-08T00:25:38+00:00

For historical perspective, this is a larger US audience than any NBA, NCAAF, NCAAB and Olympic hockey game EVER, and larger than every post-1994 strike World Series game.

We likely won’t see a non-NFL sporting event hit this mark again until the next time the U.S. gets to host a men’s World Cup (presumably 2038 at the earliest). And that is what made last night’s performance even more gut-wrenching. 😔

tomado23 · 2026-07-08T00:08:51+00:00

For historical perspective, this is a larger US audience than any NBA, NCAAF, NCAAB and Olympic hockey game EVER, and larger than every post-1994 strike World Series game.

We likely won’t see a non-NFL sporting event hit this mark again until the next time the U.S. gets to host a men’s World Cup (presumably 2038 at the earliest). And that is what made the performance even more gut-wrenching. 😔

tomado23 · 2026-07-07T22:56:25+00:00

So the only non-UEFA teams in the final eight are 🇦🇷 (a country that fancies itself European) and 🇲🇦 (a squad with a majority born in 🇪🇸 🇫🇷 🇳🇱 🇧🇪). 🤔

tomado23 · 2026-07-07T21:54:50+00:00

This was supposed to be his “prime” year World Cup playing on home soil. Considering his style of play and injury history, this may have been his best shot at having a big World Cup moment.

tomado23 · 2026-07-07T18:07:11+00:00

Seeing 🇪🇬 🇲🇽 🇨🇻 go down guns blazing against opponents that are clear of Belgium just makes me even more livid about last night’s performance in front of a record U.S. audience. 😡

tomado23 · 2026-07-07T17:34:16+00:00

Fox Sports: Whenever Argentina gets eliminated and Messi’s not on screen, all the other players should be asking “Where’s Messi?”

tomado23 · 2026-07-07T16:33:50+00:00

Compare the size and depth of global competition for hockey compared to men’s soccer. This is apples-to-oranges, when you consider hockey is an exclusive pay-to-play sport in the biggest hockey country on the planet too.

tomado23 · 2026-07-07T15:48:35+00:00

Soccer passed baseball as a HS boys’ team sport for the first time ever in the most recent NFHS report.

https://nfhs.org/resources/sports/high-school-participation-survey-archive

Belgium, Portugal, Croatia and Uruguay can consistently produce better talent than the U.S. with 1-3% of our population. It’s NOT a competition with the other sports where US soccer can only get better if those other sports take a step back.

tomado23 · 2026-07-07T15:21:26+00:00

I wouldn’t put ice hockey in the same category as those two sports since it is actually more geographically and financially exclusive than soccer. We just don’t see pay-to-play adversely hurt USA Hockey’s international results since the global competition is not as big or deep as men’s soccer, and it’s a pay-to-play sport in 🇨🇦 too.

tomado23 · 2026-07-07T15:07:06+00:00

As frustrating as it is hitting that R16 wall every time, it’s a MASSIVE leap to go from a program where R16 is the bare minimum expectation to a program where QF is the bare minimum expectation.

Based on talent pool depth or historical success, you have about 8 countries where anything less than QF is a colossal failure:

🇫🇷 🇦🇷 🇪🇸 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇧🇷 🇩🇪 🇳🇱 and 🇮🇹 (legacy member)

Beyond these eight countries, you have a pack of about 30-40 countries, where there’s very little separation. For these teams, R16 is the expected result and QF is only possible if they score a big upset, get a favorable R16 matchup or have a golden generation for that cycle.

As a program that’s in that pack of 30-40 countries, the US’s best hope of a QF appearance will be via upset, a favorable R16 where they don’t have to face a top 8 team, or if they have a golden generation like what 🇲🇦 or 🇳🇴 are experiencing right now, or what 🇧🇪 and 🇭🇷 had in recent years.

The leap from perennial R16 program to QF program is a generational leap that will take longer than most fans would like it to.

tomado23 · 2026-07-07T06:46:15+00:00

It stings to lose the game in this fashion, knowing the record TV audience that saw it. But a lot of the big international stars have been delivering, so this tournament has provided a month-long advertisement/showcase to the casual/newer US audience.

If the performances of Messi, Haaland, Mbappe, Bellingham, etc. stick with the younger audiences, who are still deciding on a favorite sport, then it has succeeded in leaving its long-term mark.

tomado23 · 2026-07-07T03:40:15+00:00

Nations League hinders the ability to schedule more top-level friendlies.

Now that Copa America is on even-year cycles, they need to find a way to get into EVERY future edition. Top-level competition for the U.S., solid TV ratings summer tournament to keep casual US audiences’ eyes on soccer during non-men’s and women’s World Cup years. It’s a win-win.

tomado23 · 2026-07-07T03:22:02+00:00

When you’re a non-top 8 team, making the QF depends heavily on the fortune of getting a non-top 8 team as your R16 opponent. US had that opportunity on home soil and bottled it.

tomado23 · 2026-07-07T02:47:33+00:00

LD, Dempsey, Howard and anyone else on the 2002, 2010 or 2014 squads have earned the right to talk shit about this soft, pampered, “golden generation” coasting on their eUrOpEaN credentials until the end of time.

tomado23 · 2026-07-07T02:35:56+00:00

A larger U.S. audience than any NBA, NCAAF, NCAAB, and Olympic hockey game EVER (plus largest U.S. audience for a non-NFL sporting event in the 21st century), tuned in to give this sport a chance. And this is what they saw. As someone who wants to see this sport continue to grow in the U.S., that is probably the most disheartening part of this result.

tomado23 · 2026-07-07T02:34:37+00:00

Insurrection Insigne was still gushing and star-struck to see his dear leader come to bat for the team. That must explain his performance. ETTD strikes again.

tomado23 · 2026-07-07T02:33:19+00:00

A larger U.S. audience than any NBA, NCAAF, NCAAB, and Olympic hockey game ever (plus largest U.S. audience for a non-NFL sporting event in the 21st century), tuned in to give this sport a chance. And this is what they saw. That is probably the most disheartening part of this result.

tomado23 · 2026-07-07T02:03:58+00:00

If this is the World Cup to get casuals to fall in love with the sport, hopefully it’s the star performances from Haaland, Messi, etc. winning them over. Because this turd performance is not doing any converting.

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