Monday's World Cup game went better for Fox than for the United States men's national team.
Fox said the 4-1 loss to Brazil drew an average of 30 million viewers, making it the most-watched soccer telecast in United States history. The huge ratings continued an upward trend during the men's World Cup.
Last week's round of 32 game between Bosnia and Herzegovina briefly held the record for an English-language U.S. broadcast with 26.4 million viewers. Mexico's 2-0 win over Ecuador last Tuesday drew 29.3 million viewers across all platforms.
USMNT's World Cup exit
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Viewership for Monday's match peaked at 36.8 million people between 9:15 and 9:30 p.m. ET. They didn't all stick around to watch Belgium eliminate the U.S.
Charles De Ketelaere scored twice for Belgium in the first half, putting his country on the board in the ninth minute and quickly answering a Malik Tillman goal to regain the lead. Hans Vanaken added an insurance goal, and Romelu Lukaku iced the game with another score in stoppage time.
The USMNT had allowed one combined goal in three victories, but Matt Freese had a disastrous evening in Seattle. The goalkeeper only saved three of Belgium's seven shots on goal, and a critical miscue helped seal his team's fate.
Freese went out of the box to retrieve a deep ball early in the second half. De Ketelaere kicked it loose, giving Vanaken a clean look at the net past U.S. defender Tim Ream.
"I'm obviously disappointed for my error in judgment," Freese said, via USA Today's Seth Vertelney. "I know the guys in front of me did everything they could today to get the win and I'm so proud of them. I wish that moment was different and wish the result was different."
With the loss, the USMNT still haven't reached the World Cup quarterfinals since 2002. Meanwhile, Fox will look to keep drawing big ratings without the hosting nation.
Belgium advances to play Spain on Friday at 3 p.m. ET. Argentina's thrilling comeback over Egypt on Tuesday afternoon may also have drawn considerable viewers to the network.
