US women's soccer team faces criticism for celebrating 13-0 blowout against Thailand in World Cup
The U.S. women's national team has come under fire for poor sportsmanship after recording the blowout in the tournament's history during their opening game in France.
Just 14 of the 52 Women’s World Cup matches - 26 percent - have been sold out, according to FIFA, despite allocating more than 1 million tickets to fans across the globe.
A full house for U.S. games are not an issue. The Americans’ 13-0 rout against Thailand on Tuesday was sold, while attendances for Chile on Sunday and Sweden next week are both sellouts.. FIFA also said all the tickets for the semifinal and final matches next month had been sold.
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“Four days after the FIFA Women's World Cup kicked off... the tournament has reached an important milestone with over one million tickets having now been allocated to fans worldwide,” soccer’s governing body said in a statement.
The announcement came a month after FIFA president Gianni Infantino said before the tournament that 20 matches had already been sold out, according to Reuters.
England’s narrow victory over Scotland over the weekend was attended by only 13,188 people, according to the BBC, 37 percent of Stade de Nice’s capacity.
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While attendance appears to be down in France, fans seem to be flocking to their televisions to watch the matches. The aforementioned England and Scotland match drew 6.1 million television viewers in the United Kingdom, making it the most watched women's soccer match of all-time in the country, according to The Washington Post.
Ratings for the first two days of the Women’s World Cup in the U.S. were reportedly up 11 percent.
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The U.S. and Thailand match, in which the Americans won by a historic margin, metered 2.2/7, according to Deadline. It was the top metered soccer telecast of any kind on an English channel since the Men’s FIFA World Cup Final last year, the website reported.
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