The Most Watched World Cup Matches

these percentages seem mighty low to me. i read somewhere that germany had something like 80% of households watching the games that implies 60 million people alone so a global number of just 128 million and a share that is below 21.8% as implied by these numbers seems dubious at best.

What? Zidane? is the pick for best player? after what He did, that’s so stupid , it is like rewarding bad behavior,,,what a shame for FIFA

YOYO

I guess it is no surprise that the United States is not on any of the list.

While the result was regretable with France having apparent control of 60% of the game there is an old truism with football, the game goes to the team that puts the ball in the back of the net legally more than their opponents. There is absolutely no excuse for missing a penalty kick; with a well placed shot the goalie has no chance at all. Re Zidane: it was with total shock thatI observed the head butting incident on the replay. WHY he made such a stupid, stupid move is beyond belief after he had done such a tremendous job of marshalling his team to the ‘Final, then quite literally, he ‘blew it. What a wate of talent

Hmm.. how are these numbers counted? It seems strange to me that only 33% of Brazil’s population would be watching the WC, because it’s difficult to find someone who DOESN’T watch. Is it just the ratio of TVs turned on the game divided by the population?

croatia ya

croatia ya

I always cringe at these types of numbers as they do not reflect whatsover what happens when several people watch the game at one place (bar, restuarant, lounge, house party) using one TV feed. hence the numbers are totally messed up.

Can anyone post the video of Shakira song and dance “Hips Don’t Lie – Bamboo” performed live, just before World Cup final match?

There has to be something wrong with these numbers. I would imagine that the viewership would be a lot higher especially in the second round. If you figure that only 20% of Western Europeans watched some of these games you are already at around 100m without adding in the other continents. Did Arthur Anderson audit these numbers?

Mr Blatter gives the ward of best player to a terrorist called Zidane!

In any civilized country, Zidane’s atitude would be assumewd as an attent to murder!

But for FIFA Zidane was assumed as the best player in the world cup fields.

Jokers? No short money mans, just it!

Blatter is a croke without shame of himself, he proved that he induced France to be presente in the final match of the worl cup.
He is not a mafia member because he have no class for it, he is just a small crooke……very small, like a snail….

Brazil and Argentina’s figures are amazing when you consider the disfavorable timezone (though the worst timezone is eastern asia/australia :-( )

i wachted all games !! found this cool site
http://www.fifatickets2006.com/zidaneflashgame.php

enjoy!!

How could you give the golden ball award to Zidane afetr what he did against Materazzi in the final ?

Are you motivated by real fair-play exhibition or have some of Zidane’s sponsors put the pressure on you? Zidane’s chest-butt is apalling and is to be compared to pure hooliganism.

By giving him the golden
ball award you are justifying fighting as a normal sportsman reaction.

Shame on you !!!!!

According to an e-mail from Soccer America, ABC got a 7 rating for the final, which represents about 12+ Million Americans watching the game. I wonder what the Univison numbers will be, but added together, I think that will be pretty good.

ABC did a horrible job. The announcers were poor, replays inconsistent, too few shots from Rome and Paris, and why Boston? Quite bad.

Thank you Herman, I totally agree with your comment. What Zidane did was crazy, but what Blatter and the FIFA did is a shame.

only 12 million americans out of about 300 million in the US, man soccer has a long way to go!

I have traveled to Brasil for many years for business and was there during the last world cup. All business, traffic, etc stops during the game since as I was told everybody in the country watch the game. How can they say Brasil was not the most TV watched country. God, famaily and then Football is what Brasil is all about

@James

The number of 86% was refering to the number of TVs tuned to the WC in reference to the number of TVs which were switched on at that moment.

The number doesn’t reflect the real number of people who watched the WC in Germany anyway. How many people didn’t watch the Game alone or weren’t watching in front of their TV but on a big screen TV somewhere in their city?

Croatia has a population of 4.5 million so to finish so high proves at least we are entertaining when it comes to how we play, too bad we got some bad results when we needed to pull through.

WC is the best way to describe this year’s World Cup

PS WC is a water closet or toilet. That is where this year’s World Cup went. Down the . . .

Zidane is great, forget the chestbutt, i love the player, a genius with the ball, i call it a momentary lapse of consciousness. but worked out for the best for me, FORZA AZZURRI. and we catchin up with brazil

Those stats cant be true! :o

They dont match my expectations!!

Anyways, someone told me this World CUp saw an increase in the percentage of female veiwers from 20% to 40%!!

Hehe.. That sounds nicer. Yet too low

:o

:’(

This time my comment got edited. Only half of it went thru. Aaaaggghhhh!! Whats happening?!

is anyone else shocked that argentina isn’t found near the top of the first list?

Zidane played in Frances first 2 games, and did nothing of note. He was suspended for two yellows for the final Group game which France won easliy. He had superb games v Spain and Brazil and was sent off v Italy in the final, not able to participate in the penalties. The Award was a retirement gift – Fabio C was far and away the best Player of the World Cup.

Zizou did a great job. Matrazzi is an idiot. I am happy Zizou won da best player award. We all know he is da best. The guy who placed a comment here from the Netherlands, who is calling Zizou a terrorist should just shut up. He should worry more about the Dutch Football and van Basten, the idiot coach. I can’t believe a coach would use the world cup as a project for the future. Dutch people should worry about there football and leave other teams who reached the final alone.

Portugal and Germany were also great!

I have watched all the matches, i missed it all ready & I cant wait 2010 South africa!!!

Peace ya’all

Will worldcupblog continue with championsleagueblog?

just wondering…

yeah, the Dutch left the world cup collectively much like Zizou did individually. I think Holland has a lost a lot of the neutral fans because of it :-(

There is not a card that would express what a headbutt can do to a man; Zindane very lucky not to crack the Italian’s sternum or his neck and in either case, loose everything.

FIFA sending wrong message to 300MM people this side of pond. They lost many with players faking injury all over the field (not just the pk) ala US/Gana.

Another four years I’ll need to defend the sport here, long way to go…FIFA should pay me.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ZINADINE THE GOLDEN CUP WINNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As usual the United States stands out for being isolated with the rest of the world. 12 million out of 300 million watched. I understand here in the US soccer isn’t one of our main sports, but how can more not admire and applaud a world game? Out of the three main world sports(Soccer,Tennis,Golf) Golf is the only sport most Americans fully appreciate or attempt to play. We are not as global as many think. What a shame the lack of coverage and conversation surrounding the cup was in the United States.

no not shocked by argentina’s walk over..
They can only blame themselves 4 not bringing out aimar,messi,saviola..
No matter what-i still think argentina is the most gifted team.
Some agree that not usualy the best team win the world cup.
For me argentina is the best team as they have scored 2 most beautiful goals in the world cup-cambiasso’s and rodriguez’s goal
Argentina proves tp us that football is a beautiful game!!

I wonder the age of same.
if the complain about the coveridge?we came to houston 40 yaers ago in 1974 we had to drive 220 miles to san antonio to see Germany/Holland,today i could watch all 64 games at my livingroom.
everyone talks about Zidane,remember howe Italy got there.Fantastig dive against
Australia,help from the press
to drow Frings out and a (meby)
dirty remark from Massaroni.
I give Zidane enough credid not to flip out vor nothing
No glory vor Italy from me.
Sen from texas U S A

actually from a US perspective I guess the big cup will be 2014 when Brazil gets it, that’s when games will be on in the evening US time, I really hope all the diving and violence we’ve seen this world cup is gone by then – but that may be wishful thinking :-(

Zinedine is an idiot fo doing what he did, for someone having such magnitude, respect, needs to have anger control management. This isnt the first incident where Zisou has lost his cool. He did it to himself, the pressure built and he broke. Im glad, being an Italian – American I love celebrating Italys victory, watch out Brazil, were 1 behind you now. In 2010 S. Africa you will have our number and be chasing us, FORZA AZZURRI….

ITALIA CAMPIONE DEL MONDO… YOU CANT TAKE THE AWAY FROM THE ITALIANS FOR 4 MORE YEARS. THERE ARE LOTS OF HATERS, WHY, BECAUSE YOUR HOME TEAM SUCKS, DONT HATE THE BLUE. FORZA ITALIA, FORZA AZZURI, CHICAGO TI AMO MOLTO, PER 4 ANNI LA COPA E NOSTRA, VIVA ITALIA, VIVA ITALIA, …..OLE OLE OLE OLE OLE , OLE , OLE OLE, OLE , OLE , OL E, OLE !!!!!!!

Zidane is one of the alltime greats but FIFA is wrong in giving him the Golden Ball after his stupid action.

A bunch of divers, and 70M people around the world that exult in this win, you will never get any credit for this “win” from the other 99%. The enduring pictures from this world cup are a bleeding McBride and a disallowed goal from the US game, a 95th minute dive PK against Australia, clown Totti in an otherwise excellent semis, and of course the taunting Mothrfckerazzi deservedly drawing Zidane’s headbutt. The asterisk against your statistic of a win will forever be associated with an underhandedly-denied Zidane. And if you think you’re going to see a tourist bounce because of this, keep looking….And UEFA competitions are not going to miss your cheating Serie A clubs. FORZA ITALMERDA.

Italians dive, cheat, steal blah blah blah. You if you are so bias, hate-filled, perhaps even jealous of Italy to see that the Italians are not the only team that engages in unfair tactics then that is your own fault. Italy is no different than any other country in this respect. You can talk about all the diving but the real problems with this world cup were the terrible officating and the lack of goals. This was one of the lowest scoring world cups ever (average goals per game) and if this continues you will not only see even less people in countries where soccer is not big, like the US and Canada, watch but you’ll probably get less people watching generally. There were a real lack of classic goals, players, or teams in this tournament, and the quality of play has degraded in recent tournaments. There are no Maradonnas, Peles, Rossis, Rivas, etc which produce memorable goals, runs, or set-ups. Overall, it was a mediocre tournament with mediocre teams and players compared to other World Cups, particularly pre-1990.

i agree with francesco and the observer from canada yu guys just sound jelous. VIVA ITALIA!!!!!!

hey mister n honour in your win. get a life. itaian divers, how about henri diving, the goal against brazil was casue he faked a hit in the fave, and zidane for me is the best player in the world but still no need to act like a fool. if materazzi did call him a terrorist which could be, great way of showing u aren’t by trying to seriously hurt someone. as i said before, i like hearing all this crap about italy casue at the end of the day we champions for another 4 years. so keep dissing. or else, dont hate, appreciate.

CHINGA SU MADRE ITALIA ARRIVA LA RAZA 100% BROWN PRIDE

I am so happy that Italy that Italy, my favorite Country, won the worldcup!!!

Zidane is a disgrace to the GAME,his nation,team,sons,children,and fans. He needs his brain examined. Justice was done-FRance lost. Cannavaro should have been given the award. No one is above the game. What an idiot.

1. Fanatism is pernicious and dangerous. Stop cursing the darkness of the world cup. Please, light up a candle so you can see and reason.

2. By the way, even though the Americans are eliminated by the Black Stars of Ghana, their World Cup campaign should not be seen as a failure.Remember the memorable 1-1 draw with Italy? Don’t you remember them pushing the Czech Republic all the way in a 3-0 loss in Munich?)

Of course America needs to go further but the big winner out of all of this has been American soccer.

In a few months a sport, which was the number four sport has leveled up with the other sports to almost become number one.

And people are concerned. They want to know how to build on this for the future, for the upcoming generation who must be the future.

It would be damaging if American soccer goes down and doesn’t capitalize on the momentum from this World Cup.

3. I am sorry to say there weren’t any big stars there. Stop bluffing. You know who you are and what you’re worth. Nevertheless, good will and determination were there.

4. America needs to rebuild or build with new bloods: adolescents 16-21 years of age. Anyone who is over 29 shouldn’t be part of the new “Team America” for 2010 and the future.

5. Thank you Germany(Team and country)! Great spirit! Great job!

6. Congratulations Italia. ole! ole! ole! Number one!
Congratulations France. Vive la France!

it was always great to watch croatia!
and france, brasil, spain!!

and ZIDANE IS A JEDI!!!!

To Nan :

Zidane is a looser.

I think Italy deserved to win. The semifinal against Germany was the best game that I saw in the tournament. I think the penalty goal that France scored at the beginning of the final was the most costly dive of the entire tournament. The replay showed that he wasn’t even touched by the two defenders. It set the tone for the rest of the game, and it hurt France. The Referee felt obliged to not call real fouls for the rest of the game. Italy scored the only true goal in the entire game, and they deserved to win. I really think they need to get rid of penalty kicks as a tie-breaker.

Okay, Italy is the World Champion for the next four years. Congratulations! But who will bet on Italy or France playing in the finals for European Champion in two years?

I do agree with Brian that the Italy-Germany game was the best game of the tournament, and Italy deserved to win that one!

i love zidane but i hate french people
they suck

Best games were Italy-Germany and Argentina-Mexico.

Hey Steve whats wrong with French people?

Summary of the WC Final:

70th minute. Zidane’s shoulder is dislocated after an egregious foul. Ref fails to red-card the Italian defender.

102nd minute. Zidane almost scores on a header. Buffon saves but the Itlian team is scared to death. They know they are going to loose.

Half time of overtime. A ploy is conjured to provoke Zidane.

108th minite. Materazzi pinches Zidane on the chest and utters obscenities. As Zidane walks past he continues sledging.

108th minute. Zidane shows who’s the lion on football field. He turns around and levels Materazzi.

108th miniute. Zidane is given the redcard. He walks out withoug even casting a glance on the World Cup trophy. He set an example for manking: honor and human values are more improtant than the glitter of gold.

A DAYS LIFE OF A LION IS BETTER THAN A THOUSAND DAY LIFE OF A JACKAL.

Zidane is the hero of mankind. There is nothing more noble than defending the honor of women, espeically your mother and sister’s.

Long live the lion Zidane! Materazzi gave up his honor for blinding glitter of gold.

Best games of the world cup were:
France vs Brazil
France vs Spain
Italy vs Germany

Zidane lost 37 balls and won only 11 duels… Besides his nice head shot he was inexistant on the field. He didn’t show us what being a lion was, he showed us what a sore-loser (or one who senses he’s going to become one)…feels!

Italy’s got the **** and they deserve it.

Beckham is the best all round most popular player that ever played the game !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006 Italy team was the best the world has ever known. What a lineup of all star players and substitutes with a legendary goalie and coach. only one goal was scored on us against the US and it was an own goal at that. The second was the final and it was a penalty which shouldn’t have been called. (remember, it barely made it in). what a great dive.

Also, we had a true 2nd goal which was dissallowed and we hit the crossbar. Things never went our way and we still managed to win the world cup.