TORONTO (June 29, 2026) – Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team continued their history-making run with a monumental win on Sunday afternoon, as they secured their first-ever FIFA WORLD CUP Knockout Stage victory, and Canadians were watching every moment of the action.
Attracting an average audience of 5.2 million viewers on TSN, RDS, CTV, Noovo, and Crave, Canada vs. South Africa becomes the country’s most-watched non-Final FIFA WORLD CUP Knockout Round match on record, according to preliminary data from Numeris.
Overall, 11.8 million unique Canadian viewers tuned in for some part of the match, which saw audiences peak with 8.2 million viewers at 4:53 p.m. ET as Canada midfielder Stephen Eustáquio scored the unforgettable goal to secure the win. On TSN platforms, live streaming audiences were nearly triple that of the first Knockout Stage match in 2022. The Canada vs. South Africa match also 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.”
Bell Media continues to record massive audience figures during its exclusive live coverage of FIFA WORLD CUP 2026™, and highlights from June 11-28 include:
- A total of 26.1 million unique Canadian viewers have watched FIFA WORLD CUP 2026™ coverage so far on TSN, RDS, CTV, Noovo, and Crave (more than 65% of Canada’s population)
- Canadians consumed more than 193 million hours of FIFA WORLD CUP 2026™ live Group Stage matches, up +125% compared to the 2022 tournament
- Major engagement around FIFA WORLD CUP 2026™ content on TSN social media accounts on June 28, including more than 19 million video views and more than 30 million impressions
- More than 1.4 million views for Canada-South Africa content on the TSN YouTube channel
- A total of 38 Group Stage matches at FIFA WORLD CUP 2026™ attracted an average audience of at least 1 million viewers
TSN and RDS are the exclusive home of FIFA WORLD CUP 2026™ all the way to the Final on Sunday, July 19, with select matches also available on CTV, Noovo, and streaming on Crave. 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.
