O’Donnell: FIFA fo-fum — USMNT loss will mean the exit of Fox’s ‘tourist’ viewership

TO HEAR THE IMAGE CORNER KICKERS AT FOX SPORTS TELL IT, everything is coming up Goaaalllllll!!! for the network's coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The 2-0 victory of the U.S. Men's National Team in a knockout opener over Bosnia-Herzegovina drew an average audience of 24 million with a peak of 31 million during the game's final leg.

According to the Fox skywriters, that made the Wednesday night pitch battle “the most-watched soccer telecast in English-language U.S. history.”

Sure the niche is narrow and the numbers aren't threatening the Super Bowl.

But that one-and-done in an open-ended sequence topped the average audience for the recent six-game New York-San Antonio NBA Finals on ABC/ESPN.

NET EYEBALLS ARE ONLY CERTAIN TO GROW MONDAY NIGHT when Hugo Boss-wearing coach Mauricio Pochettino and his peaking ball dominators face Belgium in a Round of 16 KOer at Seattle (7 p.m.).

The USMNT is a tepid favorite (-115, meaning risk $115 to gross $215 with a net profit of $100).

That despite the fact Belgium (-105) and electrifying young wing Jeremy Doku won a March “friendly” between the two developing ensembles 5-2.

Furthering the slope for the U.S will be the absence of leading scorer Folarin Balogun. He drew an absurd red card — and one-game suspension — when Juan Soto Arevalo, the match's video assistant referee (VAR), drew field ref Raphael Claus to a sideline monitor for a slo-mo review after innocuous contact between Balogun and Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic.

WHILE FOX MAY BE KNOCKIN' EM IN with audience numbers, its production and general directorial shadings using the main FIFA international broadcast feed have been merely solid rather than inspired.

The '26 WC is playing to NFL-level packed stadiums in America, Canada and Mexico.

Fox is capturing many colorful elements of the visual and audio intensity. But in this age of astonishing technology, that's a microwave-the-Stouffer's ceiling.

TO AMERICAN VIEWERS “JUST VISITING” for reasons of quadrennial fad and essential seasonal sports TV void, Fox's coverage — especially expert analysis — is far too frequently beyond mainstream accessibility.

Interludes like the Balogun red card only further hamper understanding for the television soccer tourist. That could be why close to 90% of the United States isn't watching.

WITH FOX IN THE FINAL CUP of its current contract with FIFA, The Web That Rupert Murdoch Built may not get a chance to review and revise any time soon.

Waiting in the wings to bid for American TV rights to the 2030 World Cup and beyond are not only the three legacy networks (CBS, NBC and ABC/ESPN) but also such streaming aggressors rising as Prime Video, Netflix and YouTube.

Internally, the Fox executive hounds may feel as if they are giving it their best shot.

But are they?

FOR NOW, THE GRAND INTERIM REMEDY REMAINS nothing but wins over the next two weeks by drill killer Malik Tillman and the USMNT.

Because once the United States is KOed, the Goaaalllllll!!! of victory becomes downgraded among exiting American TV tourists to the irrelevant goals of the rest of the world.

STREET-BEATIN':

To anyone who back in March had more White Sox than Cubs making the 2026 All-Star Game rosters, please send a postcard to Stunning Clair Voyance, Rate Field, Chicago, IL, 60616 for further considerations. (Down in his native Springfield, away from ASG bypass, Sam Antonacci is being hailed as the single biggest difference maker in team heart and soul on the South Side.) …

Billy Donovan's decision to sign on with the Spurs as an assistant is just more evidence of the man's superior career management instincts. He made no enemies with the Bulls and is now just a few unripened Mitch Johnson screwups away from being head coach of what many are expecting to be the NBA's Next Big Thing. …

Hawthorne Race Course has cut back to racing on Sundays only beginning this weekend. Managing partner Tim Carey's intractability regarding survival overtures has pushed the Stickney oval beyond death's starting gate and left some very sharp horse money people baffled. …

Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears each week on Sunday and Wednesday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.