If you’re asking when does the world cup start, the men’s soccer World Cup begins on June 11 and will be staged across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
A Pew Research Center survey of 3,507 American adults, fielded March 23–29, finds most Americans currently plan to give the tournament little attention: 66% say they are not too or not at all likely to follow the competition, while 28% say they are at least somewhat likely to follow and 14% say they are very or extremely likely to do so.
The snapshot comes nearly three months before kickoff. That timing matters: it captures expectations before teams arrive, groups settle on lineups and the opening match approaches, offering a baseline of public interest ahead of what organizers bill as a continent-spanning event.
Interest is uneven. Men report slightly higher odds of paying attention than women, and adults 18 to 64 are more likely than those 65 and older to say they will follow the tournament. Hispanic and Asian Americans say they will pay attention at higher rates than White and Black Americans, and immigrants are far more engaged: 54% of immigrants say they will follow the World Cup compared with 23% of U.S.-born adults.
Among the smaller group that expects to watch, uncertainty is common. Forty-one percent of those at least somewhat likely to follow say they are unsure who will win. When they do pick a favorite, Spain tops the list at 9%, while Argentina and Brazil each get 8% of responses. France receives 7%, and 7% of viewers say they expect the United States to win its first men’s World Cup. Smaller shares named Germany, Mexico, Portugal and England.
The results create a contrast: a major international tournament on home soil and a majority of Americans saying they probably won’t tune in. That gap is the story’s friction point — not a protest about the host selection or the teams, but a measure of public attention that starts low despite the calendar and geography aligning to give U.S. audiences easy access to many matches.
For readers planning logistics, the concrete fact is simple: the competition opens June 11. Beyond that date, the survey offers practical clues about where to expect viewership and engagement: younger adults, men, Hispanic and Asian communities and immigrants are the groups most likely to watch, while a large pool of undecided viewers could swing toward any team if the early matches generate narrative momentum.
The most consequential open question is whether that undecided and indifferent majority will shift as the tournament approaches and unfolds. Will pre-tournament uncertainty — the 41% who say they don’t know which team will win and the 66% who now say they won’t follow — translate into lower TV ratings and stadium attendance, or will early results and storylines pull many Americans into the event between late March and June 11? The March poll gives editors and planners a baseline; measuring the change between this snapshot and attention in the weeks immediately before and after kickoff is what will determine whether hosting the tournament on home soil actually moves national interest.
