The 2026 World Cup marked Stuart Holden’s third World Cup as an announcer for Fox Sports. He and John Strong became the first American broadcast duo to call three World Cup finals.
SOCCER AMERICA: Have you now been refreshed and had a chance to think about what you experienced this summer?
STUART HOLDEN: It was something! It’s hard to contextualize in the moment because it had been a moment that was eight years in the making. We got the World Cup rights at Fox Sports. I’ve been with Fox now for 11 years. The World Cup in North America was always kind of the creme de la creme. We did [men’s and women’s] World Cups in Russia, Qatar, Australia, Canada, but for us as broadcasters and as a company … we knew this would be the biggest and best to ever happen. And then, honestly, as it’s happening, you’re kind of living in this moment that’s pretty surreal. The audiences were bigger than we had ever had in the past. The games were incredible. John and I did 21 games by the end of the tournament.
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