The 2026 FIFA World Cup is already underway. Forty-eight nations. Sixteen cities. Three host countries. The largest World Cup in history, staged in the world’s most sports-obsessed nation — a nation that has, for most of its history, treated soccer with mild indifference and occasional contempt.
EduBirdie surveyed 2,000 American Gen Z adults on the eve of the biggest sporting event ever held on US soil. The results portray a generation that is not easy to win.
While a third of UK Gen Z are willing to pull a sickie to watch matches at uncomfortable hours, the same share of young Americans have looked at the biggest football tournament on the planet and said no thank you:
The good news for soccer evangelists: 47% of Gen Z respondents have some World Cup viewing history — either as devoted regulars or as occasional tune-ins. The genuinely interesting number sits between these poles: 22% say they haven’t watched before but will this time. That’s the conversion cohort — the people the tournament can actually move. The World Cup’s home-soil advantage is pulling in first-timers who never had a reason to tune in. Whether they stick around is a different question.
Ask Gen Z what the 2026 World Cup actually represents, and you get a pragmatic answer.
31% say it matters mainly because it’s happening in the US. The tournament’s cultural credibility in America right now is essentially borrowed from geography.
Behind that, the skeptics are loud. 28% say the hype is overblown, and 27% go further — calling it a huge waste of money. Only 14% believe the 2026 World Cup could genuinely reshape American sports culture.
Here is where the data gets genuinely revealing. Soccer is not the cultural enemy many assume it to be among young Americans.
It’s all about the competition. Soccer is fighting for attention in the most overstocked sports entertainment market on earth.
When it comes to whether the US can actually win the whole thing, Gen Z is resolutely unsentimental.
“Maybe” is what you say when you want to be surprised without being embarrassed. And 25% have already written off their own national team. The tournament still has serious work to do — not just on the pitch, but in the bars and the group chats where the real viewing decisions get made.
When asked what would make them tune in, Gen Z’s responses should put to rest any debate about whether this generation is reachable. For most consumers, the right mix of national pride, social connection, and shared experiences can be a powerful draw.
The data suggests what happens on the pitch matters more than any marketing campaign ever could. The timing is favorable. The USMNT opened the tournament with a convincing 4-1 victory over Paraguay, one of the strongest World Cup starts in team history. For the 44% who said a successful U.S. run would grab their attention, the first step has already happened.
Gen Z is not a lost cause for soccer. But they’re not a guaranteed conversion either. They watch what’s worth watching. They show up for what earns their attention. Right now, just about half of them are willing to be convinced. The ball is literally in play.
