Andres Cantor Credit: Zoom
By Matt Yoder on

An unprecedented number of Americans watched the World Cup this summer, both in English on Fox Sports and in Spanish on Telemundo.

The combined audience for the final between Spain and Argentina reached an incredible 66 million viewers. And every game throughout the tournament drew consistently high viewership numbers.

While it was a sign of soccer’s growth and the popularity of the World Cup as an event, it also shined a light on the depth of the sport’s true fandom in the United States. It seems like we can finally answer the conversation of whether or not soccer has made it. And lifting up the Spanish-language audience alongside the English-language audience showcased that more readily. With soccer viewership fragmented throughout a number of continental and European leagues, it’s tough to assign just where soccer ranks as a whole in the landscape.

One more element that brought it all together this summer was the popularity of the Telemundo broadcasts, even with English speakers. Upwards of 20% of Telemundo viewers reported English as their primary language. A key reason is the energy and passion in the broadcasts that transcends language. And nobody personifies that like lead play-by-play announcer Andrés Cantor.

The legendary figure delivered his trademark classic “GOOOOOOOOOOOL” calls once again. After his emotional call of his native Argentina winning the 2022 World Cup went viral, the famed announcer once again had several incredible calls throughout this year’s tournament as Argentina played one classic game after another.

In an interview with CNBC’s Alex Sherman, Cantor spoke about what the tournament means to him, calling both the Argentina and USA games, and what it meant to him.

“I have the same enthusiasm as the very first day, and the World Cup gets the best out of me. When I call the Argentina games, I get very emotional. I got very, very emotional when I got to call the US Men’s National Team. I fought so much for soccer in this country for the last 40 years, being the main play-by-play announcer on the Spanish-language networks that cover the US Men’s National Team. I have a feeling for this team, for this country, and I get enthused. I’ve called lesser important games, but with the same passion. I have passion every weekend; I call Premier League on Telemundo. But every four years the World Cup gets the best of me,” Cantor said.

And at 63-years-old, Andrés Cantor has no plans to hang up the microphone anytime soon and is looking forward to the next World Cup in 2030. Although the rights for the tournament are up for bid, Cantor said his contract with Telemundo is not long-term and that he would be available to whoever won the bid for the Spanish-language rights. Furthermore, he even referenced a desire to call more games in English to take on new challenges.

“No, not at all. I consider myself young. I have the fire within me to keep doing what I love, which is sitting in the best seat in the house in the major tournaments. I ventured into English language play-by-play last summer. I did some Premier League for NBC Sports. And that is something that I will consider also doing moving forward just to find new challenges. But definitely no, no retirement yet.”

Wherever and whenever soccer fans get to here, Andrés Cantor is always a special occasion. And the news that he plans on doing play-by-play for many more years to come is welcome news.

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