Brazil‑Japan World Cup clash spikes TV ratings and boosts Bruno Guimarães’ assist record
On 29 June 2026 the Brazil‑Japan round‑of‑16 match in the United States ended 2‑1 to Brazil. Midfielder Bruno Guimarães supplied his fourth assist of the tournament, tying the century‑old record for most assists in a single World Cup edition (Michael Ballack, Francesco Totti and Juan Cuadrado) and leaving him two assists shy of Pelé’s 1970 mark.
The game generated extraordinary broadcast audiences. In Spain, the match on La 1 attracted 3.075 million viewers (33.7 % share), making it the day’s most‑watched program. In Brazil, SBT recorded a 12.77‑point rating in Greater São Paulo – its best performance in a decade – and led in several other markets, while Record’s news programmes also logged strong figures. Online, YouTube channel CazéTV logged a peak of 21 million simultaneous viewers, a new platform record.
The combination of a high‑stakes sporting result, a standout individual performance, and record‑breaking viewership highlighted the global impact of the World Cup fixture across both traditional and digital media.