Search demand for the FIFA World Cup group stage in the US, Mexico and Canada did not peak uniformly across participating markets, according to new data from Blask tracking World Cup-related queries from 11 to 27 June.

Blask said it measures daily World Cup-related search demand at a country level and converts it into a “World Cup Index (WCI)”, based on the same logic as its Blask Index but adapted from brand-level search to event-related keyword demand. The dataset covers 43 countries out of 48 participating in the tournament, excluding Iran, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Cape Verde and Curaçao because Blask said its tracker’s Category feature is not yet available in those markets.

Across the 17-day group stage window, Blask reported that only 12 days produced a peak WCI in at least one country. Five days — 11, 15, 18, 19 and 22 June — were not the top day for any market in the sample.

At the other end of the range, the final group matchday, 27 June, produced peak WCI in 16 countries: Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Japan, Panama, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay. Two other dates saw seven markets peak each: 14 June (Canada, Germany, Haiti, the Netherlands, Turkey, England and Scotland) and 26 June (Australia, Brazil, Ivory Coast, Mexico, Paraguay, Senegal and Sweden).

Blask also pointed to the weight of the US in combined demand. While 27 June had the most country peaks, Blask said the highest day for combined World Cup-related search demand was 20 June, when the United States peaked. “The US alone makes up 26–36% of combined interest,” the company said. Blask added that the US pattern did not fully align with the combined total, with the US’s weakest day at 15 June and its smallest share of total interest on 27 June.

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Flashscore says 1.99 million UK users followed the World Cup group stage on its app and website between 11 June and 28 June, generating 264.1 million views ahead of England’s Round of 32 match against DR Congo in Atlanta on 1 July.

In the UK, England was the most-tracked team with 872,900 profile opens, followed by Scotland with 394,200, according to the company’s dataset. Flashscore said England fixtures took the top three spots for UK user engagement, led by the group-stage match against Croatia with 631,684 users and 2.9 million views. The other two most-viewed England games were against Ghana (2.21 million views) and Panama (2.05 million views).

Flashscore also published global figures for the group stage, reporting 7.16 billion views from 62.26 million unique users. Portugal was the most-followed nation worldwide on Flashscore with 11.2 million team profile opens, ahead of Brazil (9.1 million), France (8.7 million), Spain (7.8 million) and Argentina (7.7 million). England ranked eighth globally with 6.5 million profile opens.

The company highlighted Cape Verde as one of the tournament’s “surprise stories”, placing sixth globally by team views and fourth among UK users. Flashscore also released a “Team of the Group Stage” selected using its new “Flashscore Rating”, which it said analyses more than 70 on-ball and off-ball metrics. Erling Haaland was rated 9.0, with Lionel Messi (8.9) and Kylian Mbappe (8.6) also included in the attacking trio, while Marc Guehi (8.4) was the only England player selected.

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Team Vitality is launching an official fan zone, V.Hub, to coincide with the 2026 IEM Cologne Major. The venue will run June 18-21 at KWB im Stadtpalais, a short walk from the LANXESS Arena.

Access to V.Hub will be free for fans who sign up, with limited availability. Team Vitality said the space is intended to bring together its community, partners and Counter-Strike fans attending the event.

The fan zone will include dedicated areas hosted by Team Vitality and partners Skin.Club, ASUS ROG, EVNIA and Blacklyte. The club said activations will include hands-on experiences and opportunities to play bespoke Counter-Strike maps.

Team Vitality also plans match watch parties, a pop-up shop for official merchandise and giveaways, including an ASUS ROG x Team Vitality co-branded mousepad. During the playoff stage, the club said V.Hub will be set up for trophy photo opportunities with its Major trophies.

Food and drink will be available on site throughout the event, including vegetarian options.

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