World Cup Final, The Most Watched Soccer Match In U.S. History With 26.5M Viewers

Argentina soccer fans watch in disbelief the final World Cup match between Argentina and Germany on an outdoor television screen set up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, July 13, 2014. Mario Goetze volleyed in the winning goal in extra time to give Germany its fourth World Cup title with a 1-0 victory over Argentina. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

NEW YORK (AP) – With an estimated 26.5 million viewers, Sunday's World Cup final stands as the most-watched soccer game in U.S. history.

The Nielsen company said Monday that 17.3 million people watched Germany beat Argentina 1-0 on ABC. An additional 9.2 million tuned in to the game on the Spanish-language Univision network.

That tops the 24.7 million who watched the U.S.-Portugal match earlier in the tournament, and the same number of people who saw the 2010 World Cup final between the Netherlands and Spain.

Between well-played games and a time zone compatible with U.S. viewing, both networks were up significantly throughout the tournament from four years ago.