Among its selected highlights, the United States' 0-0 draw against England on November 25 was the most watched men's football match in the country's history with a peak audience of 19.65 million on Fox.

Argentina's 2-0 win against Mexico the following day was the most-watched group stage match on Spanish television in the US on Telemundo.

Japan's Group E defeat to Costa Rica on Sunday (November 27) drew the highest audience of the year in the country with an average of 36.37 million viewers, which was more than 10 million higher than their opening match against Germany.

FIFA also said that strong viewership figures had been recorded in Europe, with 76.6 per cent of people watching television in The Netherlands tuning into their second match against Ecuador in Group A, and 65 per cent in Spain following the country's 1-1 draw with Germany on La1 and GOL MUNDIAL.

In contrast, viewership in Germany has been low compared to previous tournaments.

DW Sports reported that the match against Germany was the first to break the 10 million viewers mark.

However, this represents a significant decline on Germany's second match at Russia 2018, which was watched by more than 27 million people.

The build-up to the tournament featured notable protests from fan groups and ultras in Germany against the staging of the World Cup in Qatar due to the host nation's human rights record.

The German team covered their mouths before their opening match against Japan, which was interpreted as a protest against FIFA's threat to sanction players for wearing the "OneLove" armband to support the LGBTQ+ community and promote inclusion.

The knockout stage of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup is due to begin tomorrow.