APTOPIX Missouri WCup Soccer Reaction

New polling from Ipsos Sports, provided exclusively to The Associated Press, shows that the World Cup has excited soccer fans and piqued many Americans’ interest, even as the sport continues to face an uphill climb to reach mainstream popularity in the United States. The poll was conducted June 26-28, after the U.S. advanced from the group stage but before they won against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the knockout round. About 6 in 10 soccer fans were “extremely” or “very” excited about the U.S. advancing to the knockout round, much higher than the 25% of Americans overall who said the same. About half of soccer fans say the U.S.'s role in co-hosting the World Cup is going at least “very” well, but there’s less enthusiasm for FIFA’s role.