The success of the World Cup, the world's biggest soccer festival, has long been driven by the performance of host nations. The 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, where Korea wrote its semifinal legend, drew an average attendance of 42,269 and proved a box-office success. The 2006 Germany tournament also mobilized massive crowds until the closing stages as host Germany reached the semifinals.
A similar trend is unfolding at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America, now playing through the second round of the group stage. Hosts Mexico (FIFA ranking 11th), the United States (13th), and Canada (27th) are on unbeaten runs in the group stage, heating up the atmosphere of the entire tournament. Not only soccer-passionate Mexico, but also the United States and Canada—which have shown less interest in soccer compared to other professional sports such as baseball, basketball, and ice hockey—appear highly encouraged by their national teams' performances.
In Group A, Mexico followed a 2-0 win over South Africa in its first match by beating even Korea 1-0, simultaneously securing first place in the group and advancement to the Round of 32. Meanwhile, in Group D, the United States turned back Australia 2-0 on Saturday (Korea time), recording two straight wins to grab a Round of 32 ticket as group leader.
Canada, in Group B, drew 1-1 with Bosnia and Herzegovina in its first group-stage match before crushing Qatar 6-0 in its second to claim its first-ever World Cup victory. With one win and one draw, Canada will advance to the knockout stage with even a draw in its final group-stage match against Switzerland on Thursday. Depending on the result, it could also reach the knockout stage as group leader.
Buoyed by its national team's strong performance, Mexico has transformed into one giant festival ground. Already a nation with a fervent love for soccer, it has responded to the team's success with sold-out crowds and passionate street cheering. The Jalisco state government in Guadalajara, where the match against Korea was held, even ordered school closures across the state on match day to encourage support.
The United States, where a soccer "boom" took hold after the creation of Major League Soccer (MLS) following the 1994 USA World Cup, is buzzing again. The explosive popularity is proven by the numbers. The national team's opening match of this tournament against Paraguay (a 4-1 win) on the 13th of this month was watched by 27.5 million viewers in the United States alone—a record for the highest viewership in US soccer broadcasting history.
The four group-stage matches held in the United States on the 17th (France-Senegal, Iraq-Norway, Argentina-Algeria, Austria-Jordan) drew a total attendance of 281,223. This broke the single-day attendance record of 277,070 set at the 1994 USA tournament after 32 years, marking a new record for the highest single-day attendance in World Cup history.
Canada, a powerhouse in winter sports, is also hot for soccer. The turning point was the big win over Qatar. After the match, citizens poured into the streets of Vancouver, honking horns and setting off smoke flares to celebrate the victory. Canadian outlet CBC said it was "a fervor similar to the atmosphere during the ice hockey gold medal win at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics." Canada head coach Jesse Marsch was overcome with emotion, saying, "Canada is now a complete 'soccer nation.' All 40 million people are buzzing."
