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Losing hurts less when you break records along the way.
The U.S. men’s national team‘s World Cup run ended July 6 in Seattle, where Belgium defeated the co-hosts 4-1 in the Round of 16. Charles De Ketelaere scored twice, while Hans Vanaken and Romelu Lukaku added late goals after Malik Tillman gave the Americans an early spark with a 31st-minute strike.
The result eliminated the USMNT from the tournament, but it also delivered a historic moment for soccer betting in the United States.
According to BetMGM, the USA-Belgium match became the most-bet soccer match in the sportsbook’s history by ticket count, surpassing the previous record set by the 2022 FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and France.
The match also became a defining moment in BetMGM’s World Cup betting activity. Four of the sportsbook’s five most-bet matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup have involved the USMNT: USA-Belgium, Mexico-England, USA-Bosnia, USA-Paraguay and USA-Türkiye.
The Americans’ run, including a tournament-ending loss, became the biggest driver of soccer betting interest in BetMGM’s history.
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World Cup match tops NBA Finals and Stanley Cup betting
The Round of 16 matchup at BetMGM sportsbook generated:
- 197% more bets than the 2026 Stanley Cup Final between the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights
- 66% more bets than the 2025 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays
- 33% more bets than the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball championship game between Michigan and UConn
- 17% more bets than the 2026 NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs
- More bets than every 2026 College Football Playoff game except the national championship between Indiana and Miami
The numbers placed a knockout-stage soccer match above championship contests across the NHL, MLB, NBA and college basketball. The only College Football Playoff matchup to draw more bets than USA-Belgium was the national championship game.
BetMGM senior trading manager Christian Cipollini said the tournament’s remaining matches were expected to continue generating strong interest.
“It is setting up to be an incredible quarterfinal,” Cipollini said. “We have the sport’s biggest stars and teams facing off, which we expect to drive very strong betting interest throughout the weekend. This tournament keeps on delivering unforgettable moments, which sets the stage for an exciting round full of possibilities.”
BetMGM’s results also reflected a broader surge of interest around the USMNT and the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Multiple U.S. sportsbooks reported record soccer betting activity during the tournament, with the American team’s run becoming a major driver of wagering engagement, according to a Sports Business Journal report on USMNT World Cup betting records.
Super Bowl still stands alone
Despite the record-setting performance, BetMGM said the 2026 Super Bowl still generated roughly seven times as many bets as the USA-Belgium match.
The comparison highlights both the NFL’s continued dominance and soccer’s growth among U.S. bettors. While no World Cup match has reached Super Bowl betting levels, the gap between soccer and America’s biggest betting events has continued to shrink.
A World Cup match drawing a fraction of the Super Bowl’s betting activity may not represent parity between the sports, but it demonstrates how quickly soccer has become a major part of the U.S. sports betting landscape.
World Cup betting momentum continues after USMNT’s exit
USA-Belgium produced record betting activity despite the Americans falling behind by three goals late in the match. The continued wagering interest suggested bettors remained engaged with the tournament itself, not only the USMNT’s chances of advancing.
Even after elimination, the United States remained one of the most popular teams among BetMGM bettors. The sportsbook said the USMNT ranked third in ticket share in its tournament winner market at 11.5%, trailing only France (14.4%) and Spain (12.5%).
France entered the quarterfinals as BetMGM’s title favorite, with its odds shortening from +450 before the group stage to +175. BetMGM said 95% of the money wagered on France to advance backed Les Bleus (-350).
Kylian Mbappé remained the tournament’s biggest individual betting draw, attracting four times as many bets as any other player to score anytime and nine times as many bets as any other player to score first.
The betting surge also coincided with unprecedented audience interest. The USA-Belgium match drew 42 million U.S. viewers across English- and Spanish-language broadcasts, according to The Wall Street Journal report on USA-Belgium World Cup viewership.
While the USMNT’s tournament ended in Seattle, its run helped establish the 2026 FIFA World Cup as a landmark event for soccer betting in the United States. With record wagering activity reported across sportsbooks and massive audience engagement, the tournament underscored soccer’s continued rise in one of the world’s largest regulated betting markets.
