U.S. Women's World Cup loss to Sweden draws audience of 2.52 million on FOX

The United States' early Sunday morning loss to Sweden in the Round of 16 at the Women's World Cup averaged an English-language audience of 2.52 million viewers on FOX.

The game, which kicked off Sunday night in Melbourne, Australia, began at 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT in the U.S.

FOX averaged 2,515,000 viewers according to Nielsen. The audience peaked at 4,072,000 during penalty kicks, when Sweden won 5-4 after a scoreless draw in regulation and extra time.

The Americans four matches averaged 3,795,000 on FOX, an 2% increase over four years ago, when the tournament took place in France.

The first two matches took place in prime time. The July 26 1-1 draw against the Netherlands was the most-watched U.S. group-stage match in Women's World Cup history, averaging 6,429,000.

Reporting by The Associated Press.