Half of the matches in the ongoing football World Cup in North America are yet to be played, yet this edition has already carved its name in history. The tournament, hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, has shattered the all-time World Cup attendance record and established a new milestone.

FIFA announced that the total attendance has reached 3,605,357, surpassing the record of approximately 3.6 million spectators set during the 1994 World Cup. This new record was displayed on the stadium’s giant screen during the second half of the match between Germany and Ecuador in East Rutherford, New Jersey, prompting an immediate eruption of cheers and applause from the crowd.

There is no doubt that this record will grow even further, as 48 matches remain in this 104-game tournament. In contrast, the 1994 World Cup featured only 52 matches; given this scale, the total attendance for this expanded tournament could potentially reach nearly double that of the 1994 event.

On average, more than 99 percent of stadium seats have been filled during this World Cup. However, Victor Matheson, a sports economics expert at the College of the Holy Cross, believes that high ticket prices and travel restrictions imposed by the Donald Trump administration prevented many fans from attending matches in person, despite their desire to do so.

Nevertheless, the enthusiasm of football fans surrounding the World Cup has not waned in the slightest—a fact clearly evidenced by the new attendance record. Dan Rascher, a sports economics expert at the University of San Francisco, remarked, “Americans want to be part of big moments. They want to witness such events firsthand.”