An average of 11.1 million viewers caught the English and Spanish language broadcasts for each of USA’s three Group C matchups in this year’s World Cup. In 2006, USA’s three group stage games averaged 6.6 million viewers.

“These ratings demonstrate the remarkable increase of interest in U.S. soccer over the last four years,” said Stephen Master, VP of sports at Nielsen. “The numbers are even more impressive when you consider that two of these games were played on weekday mornings, when many viewers are at work. Although more people than ever chose to watch live streaming video of the games from their computers and mobile devices, TV viewing climbed even higher.”

Yesterday’s dramatic USA-Algeria matchup drew an estimated 8.6 million viewers between ESPN and Univision, making it the second most watched U.S. game behind USA-England. The game’s viewership was up from the 7.5 million viewers who watched USA tie Slovenia last Friday.

According to a Nielsen analysis of online messages surrounding all U.S. and English national team players in the week ending Monday, June 14, Green garnered 11.4% of the total buzz, the most of any man from either squad. Nielsen’s study also found that his name was seven times more likely to appear in a World Cup message in the last week than in the prior seven-day period. It was the second most dramatic week-over-week change behind U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard, whose gutsy performance earned him “Man of the Match” status. His buzz levels soared more than 750% week-over-week.

“Nielsen’s analysis illustrates just how much the online community discusses these games,” said Pete Blackshaw, VP of digital insights at Nielsen. “Moments of greatness – or even the briefest of errors – can thrust any of these players’ names under the social media microscope for hours and days at a time and can have an effect that spreads far beyond the 90 minutes of game time.”

The contrasting week-over-week change in overall buzz levels for each of the two squads highlights the effect the game’s result had in each country. Social media discussions around the England squad dropped by 21%, reflecting the disappointment and subdued reaction to the game in England. In stark contrast, buzz levels around the US squad increased by over 250%, highlighting the delight with the result in the USA.

Blackshaw observes, “What’s happening in social media indicates that the error could help fan the flames of World Cup fever in the US and help the sport gain a mass share of mind it’s not previously enjoyed for a tournament held outside its own shores. If Green hadn’t made the blunder, the US would have lost their most anticipated match (it was the most watched first round game ever in the U.S.) and interest could have dwindled before it had a chance to really start going.”

USA and England Soccer Player Buzz Rankings
(Week ending Monday, June 14)

Despite a somewhat muted performance, English star Wayne Rooney still managed to receive the second highest levels of buzz last week among the teams’ players with a 9.1% share. Howard finished third overall with a 6.7% share, while the game’s goal scorers Clint Dempsey and Steven Gerrard rounded out the top five with 5% each.

It was also notable that David Beckham, who isn’t playing in the tournament, still managed to feature amongst the most buzzed players. It seems the obsession with the star plays out in social media just as it did with the TV cameras, which frequently cut to slow-motion clips of Beckham’s reaction to events during the course of the game.

There was one positive for England’s Green: the buzz levels for England’s backup goalkeepers, David James and Joe Hart, actually decreased in the last week – suggesting that even if fans are unsatisfied with Green, they weren’t eager to discuss the need for a replacement.

Nielsen’s latest study, conducted the week ending Monday, June 14, 2010, looked at English language World Cup-related messages on blogs, message boards, groups, video and image sites – including Flickr, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter – that mentioned at least one of the players related to the 2010 US and England Team Squads.

An estimated 14.5 million U.S. viewers combined to watch the telecasts on ABC and Univision (which include pre-game coverage), the highest average audience for a men’s national team soccer game since at least 15.8 million combined to watch USA and Brazil’s Round of 16 match in 1994.

The game was also the most watched first round game in the U.S., surpassing the USA-Romania match that drew at least 12.1 million in 1994.

“Thanks to social media and enhanced access to games and news from around the world, soccer fever has hit a critical mass in the United States,” said Stephen Master, vice president of sports at The Nielsen Company. “Saturday’s viewership numbers only validate soccer’s momentum across America.”

A further breakdown of the of the game’s audience reveals that 57% of total viewers fell in the 18-49 demographic. An estimated 65% of adults 18+ were male, while 35% were female. Teens accounted for almost 7% of the total audience.

United States
Surprisingly, the U.S. squad wasn’t even the most buzzed-about national team. England, Argentina, Brazil, Serbia, and Spain were just some of the countries more closely correlated to the World Cup in conversations online. American consumers were also talking about various World Cup sweepstakes, whether they be corporate-sponsored (from Yahoo!, EA Sports, and McDonald’s) or privately-run pools where members pick the winners. There was also lots of Buzz around David Beckham, who’s not even playing in the World Cup due to an Achilles injury.

United Kingdom
Many World Cup discussions involved Fantasy football leagues as consumers took a more active role in the tournament as it gets closer. England fans have high expectations for their national team, as indicated by the frequency of terms like like “winning” and “champions” tied to the team. But fans also see a strong foe in Brazil, with similar terms grouped around the Latin American soccer power. England’s manager Fabio Capello was the most closely linked person to World Cup messages, followed by the injured Beckham.

South Africa
The World Cup’s host country has more than just soccer on its mind. Visitor and tourism messages drove a significant part of World Cup conversation, as well as ticket inquiries. Key FIFA and Local Organizing Committee (LOC) representatives Jerome Valcke and Danny Jordaan were often cited for addressing these issues. Overshadowing the matches were discussions about security concerns. South African messages also voiced disappointment of Shakira’s “Waka Waka” as the official World Cup song.

Australia
Even as Australia prepares for the this year’s tournament, it’s the fate of future World Cups that’s on the minds of many of the country’s online consumers. Messages about luring the 2018 or 2022 Cup to the Land of Oz – even speculation about potential venues – were prominent in online discussion. As the future of Australian soccer is discussed, many chose to wax nostalgic about the past, with dialogue about retired soccer great Mark Viduka.

Italy
In the weeks leading up to the World Cup, Italians buzzed about the “Will-he-or-won’t-he?” saga of golden boy Francesco Totti coming out of retirement to play for the national team (ultimately he was never called up). Fans of the defending world champs also talked about several members of the Azzurri national team – including head coach Marcello Lippi – and some of the team’s top competition, including Brazil, Argentina, and , perhaps surprisingly, Cameroon.

Germany
The Internet provided lively discussion forums for German soccer fans debating who should and should not have made the national team. Leading the debate was who should replace starting goalkeeper Rene Adler who suffered a rib injury that prevents him from playing with the team in South Africa. Speculation of Germany’s Group D competition was also very high, with tough matchups against Serbia, Ghana, and Australia in the tournament’s preliminary round.

Spain
Spanish fans have been preoccupied with comparisons to South American soccer power Argentina. Messages compare young Spanish phenom David Silva with Argentine superstar Messi and coach Vicente Del Bosque with soccer legend and current Argentina coach Maradona. A classic goalkeeper controversy was also brewing with some calling for Victor Valdes to start over Iker Casillas. Finally – after Sogecable, the leading pay TV company in Spain, sold the rights to Telecinco for some matches and to Cuatro for others – Spanish fans worried about which TV channel to watch the matches and who will be commentating.

The survey found that 34% of respondents believe Brazil will take home the Cup, 25 percentage points more than any other country. Argentina, England, Germany, and, yes, the United States, all tied for second with each earning the nod from nine percent of the sample. Only six percent believe that defending world champion Italy will repeat in 2010.

Who Will Win the World Cup?

NOTE: Based on 27,664 survey responses from 55 countries across the world

A regional breakout of the survey’s results revealed greater insight into how different parts of the world see the tournament unfolding:

• Four of the five global regions polled by Nielsen favored Brazil. Not surprisingly, 57% of  the Latin American region – including 86% of all Brazilians – were confident that the Green and Yellow will win it all.
• The one global region that didn’t pick Brazil? North America. Instead, 46% of the region – including 50% of U.S.-based respondents – displayed patriotic optimism by saying that the Stars and Stripes will win its first-ever World Cup. Only four percent of the rest of the world said they liked USA’s chances of winning.
• Within the European region, more people favor Spain (15%) than either Germany (14%) or England (10%). The latter two countries tied for second ahead of Spain in the worldwide survey.

Nielsen’s global survey polled 27,000 consumers in 55 countries on topics related to the World Cup. The survey found that while 34% of people around the world consider themselves soccer fans, an estimated 51% said they will be following the games in South Africa.