Canada’s historic win over South Africa on Sunday at the FIFA World Cup drew an average audience of 5.2 million across TSN, RDS, CTV, Noovo and Crave, ranking as the most-watched non-Final Knockout Round match ever.
Overall, 11.8 million unique Canadian viewers tuned in for some part of the match, according to preliminary Numeris data supplied by Bell Media. Audiences peaked with 8.2 million viewers at 4:53 p.m. ET as Canada midfielder Stephen Eustáquio scored the goal that secured the win.
On TSN platforms, live streaming audiences were nearly triple that of the first Knockout Stage match in 2022. TSN social content, meanwhile, attracted more than 19 million video views on June 28 and more than 30 million impressions, in addition to more than 1.4 million views for Canada-South Africa content on the TSN YouTube channel.
The match now ranks as the fourth most-watched FIFA World Cup match on record.
“The thrilling run of Canada’s Men’s National Team at FIFA World Cup 2026 continues to electrify the country and break audience records, and this unprecedented engagement is a testament to the incredible passion of Canadian fans uniting around the beautiful game,” said Shawn Redmond, Vice President, Bell Media Sports. “The team’s phenomenal performance has made this tournament an unforgettable sporting moment across the country, and these results reflect this extraordinary momentum across broadcast, streaming, digital, and social media. As this incredible moment for Canadian soccer continues, we can’t wait to follow this team’s breathtaking FIFA World Cup journey on every platform.”
Since June 11, a total of 26.1 million unique Canadian viewers have tuned in to FIFA World Cup coverage on TSN, RDS, CTV, Noovo, and Crave (more than 65% of Canada’s population).
Canadians consumed more than 193 million hours of live Group Stage matches, up +125% compared to the 2022 tournament. A total of 38 Group Stage matches attracted an average audience of at least 1 million viewers.
The Canadian Men’s National Team next competes in the Round of 16 on Saturday, July 4 at Houston Stadium, with pre-game coverage beginning at 10 a.m. ET across TSN, RDS, CTV, Noovo, and Crave.
