This figure is higher than the group stage of the 2018 World Cup in Russia according to FIFA.
More than 2.45 million people watched the first 48 matches of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup while teams from five federations made it to the round of 16, football’s governing body FIFA said on Saturday.
This is higher than the 2018 World Cup in Russia for the group stages, FIFA said in the report.
Of all the matches in the first round, the one with the most spectators was between Argentina and Mexico at Lusail Stadium with 88,996 attendees.
Lusail will also be the venue for the final.
Meanwhile, at FIFA Fan Festival in Doha, more than a million people visited the venue, where fans gather to watch live games during the tournament and was introduced in 2006 during the World Cup in Germany.
To date, Saudi Arabia leads the list with the most visitors with more than 77,000, followed by India with a total of 56,893.
Before Qatar 2022 kicks off on November 20, the host country said it expects to welcome more than a million visitors.
In terms of television audiences, 36 million people watched Japan vs Costa Rica, while the US vs England was the most watched men’s soccer match in US television history.
The most diverse round 16
According to FIFA, this year is the first time that teams from all continents have reached the knockout round of 16 since 2002.
“This is the first time two African teams [Senegal and Morocco] made it to the round of 16 – only last time was in 2014 [Algeria and Nigeria]management agency said.
Morocco topped the group after beating Belgium and Canada, and drawing with Croatia in the opening match. Meanwhile, Senegal beat Qatar, drew Ecuador and the Netherlands in Group A.
The qualifiers by South Korea, Australia and Japan are the first time three nations from the Asian Football Confederation have reached the round of 16 of the World Cup, the report added.
