WASHINGTON — Fairly or not, the World Cup serves as an every-four-year litmus test for soccer’s rise in America. Proponents point to the increase in viewership as signs of growth among the next generation of Americans, while others dismiss ratings spikes as shows of patriotism like those associated with the Olympics. But no matter which camp in which you find yourself, it’s impossible to ignore the groundswell of support that continues to build for the U.S. Women’s National Team as they head into a monumental semifinal match against top-ranked Germany.
Tuesday’s matchup of the top two teams in the world is positioned to be the biggest the Americans have played in four years, and arguably the biggest since beating China in 1999 in Pasadena, the last time they won it all. Canada has served as a home away from home, with strong, pro-American crowds at every game. The semifinal — played at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, just 25 miles north of the New York border — should be no different.
The fans have turned out even more impressively to watch the action from afar. While 4.2 million Americans tuned into the third round of the U.S. Open on FOX, the U.S.-Colombia Round of 16 Game drew 4.7 million, despite being relegated to FOX Sports 1.
When the quarterfinals moved over to FOX, 5.7 million Americans tuned in to watch the USWNT’s victory over China to advance to the semifinals. That made the match the third most-watched women’s game ever, and most for a non-final. That’s especially impressive considering the poor television time slot, on a Friday night. Overall, FOX says ratings are up 42 percent from four years ago, when the tournament was on ESPN.
Perhaps the best sign of the women’s game’s growth, though, is that the ratings spikes have not been restricted to the states. An average of 2.8 million Canadian viewers watched the host nation beat Switzerland in their Round of 16 Game. Five million Chinese viewers watched their victory over Cameroon to advance to the quarterfinals. And France’s win over Korea set a record for broadcaster W9, drawing an audience of 2.8 million.
Whether or not the game can continue to build on the momentum of the World Cup remains to be seen. But Tuesday night’s clash with Germany promises to inflate the numbers for this World Cup even more. Beyond the matchup of Germany’s top-ranked offense against the Americans’ top-ranked defense, the teams have plenty of history at this stage of the tournament, meeting in the semifinals for the fourth time. The U.S. has won two of the previous three, with the winner taking the Cup all three times.
As for the game itself, neither team should have much of an advantage on the travel front. Germany stays in Montreal, where they played their quarterfinal match, while the U.S. makes the two-hour bus ride from Ottawa. The Americans might be a touch fresher, though, having needed just the regulation 90 minutes to dispatch China in a game they dominated more than the 1-0 final suggests, while Germany won on the fifth and final penalty kick following 120 minutes of a knockdown, drag-out dogfight against France.
And while a win would propel the U.S. to the final and a chance at reclaiming World Cup glory, a dramatic game with close to 10 million viewers would be an enormous event for the sport, regardless of the outcome. If we’ve learned anything from the tournament so far, it’s that Tuesday’s game should be great entertainment.
