The first group-stage phase of the FIFA World Cup 2026 wrapped at the weekend with Sunday, 28 June delivering one of Ozone’s biggest daily audiences of the tournament so far. Sunday’s 3.1m Football users represented a 6% day-on-day increase, building on Saturday’s 21% surge. In fact, daily users across the weekend were more than a fifth higher than the pre-tournament average (15–28 May).
As a result, fan attention last week was at its highest across the weekend when all eyes were firmly fixed on England’s 2-0 victory over Panama on Saturday night – confirming their status as Group L leaders – and the fallout from Scotland’s elimination, which triggered coach Steve Clarke’s resignation.
While the weekly audience remained relatively stable at 10.2m, engagement was immense, with World Cup fans generating 68m page views. Despite 70% of the tournament’s games complete and the jeopardy of the knockout stages to come, weekly users and page views are up 54% and 39% respectively compared to the 2025/26 season average.
For the England vs Panama fixture, engagement among dedicated football fans peaked at 10pm (kick-off), with the audience 63% higher than at any other point in the day. Interest surged from 6pm onwards and held firm throughout the match.
Beyond this peak, hourly audiences were a third higher during the morning build-up (7–10am) and the pre-match window (6-9pm). Live reporting remains one of our audiences’ most-popular content types, with minute-by-minute coverage among the top-performing articles over the weekend.
With Scotland’s fate unconfirmed until Sunday morning, fans turned to Ozone editorial for ongoing coverage of the complex permutations needed for progress. Ultimately, news of Scotland’s elimination and Clarke’s resignation dominated Sunday’s top articles. As a result, Clarke’s share of voice among Football users jumped 57% week-on-week.
The England team continues to be the most-read-about team in the UK, reaching 3.5m users. Thomas Tuchel dominates share of voice (2.2m users), with content sentiment majority positive (61%). Among the players, England’s newly minted record World Cup goalscorer – captain Harry Kane – commands the highest share of voice at 1.8m users and almost two-thirds positive content sentiment. Meanwhile, England’s Declan Rice – who was rested against Panama – saw his share rise by 33%.
England’s round of 32 match against DR Congo is on Wednesday, 1 July. Kick-off is at 5pm BST, allowing for a more family-friendly screening time. Whether it’s early work finishes, office watch parties, packed pubs, or a surge in viewing during the commute, expect hourly football audience figures to look much closer to what we’re used to when time differences aren’t such a big factor.
