England’s 3-2 win over Mexico in the early hours of Monday morning wasn’t just a massive result for the Three Lions. It also shattered every BBC record for a broadcast between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. BST. The corporation confirmed a peak live audience of 9.1 million, with an average of 7.8 million people tuning in. That’s more than triple the previous record, which was set during the Rio Olympics in 2016.
The kickoff was at 2 a.m. back home. And still, fans showed up. Or stayed up, more accurately. The match drew a crowd that would rival prime-time Premier League broadcasts, just at a time when most people are usually asleep or, at best, trying to convince themselves to go to bed.
Digital numbers were just as absurd
Match highlights were streamed a record 5.9 million times across iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and app, and the BBC Football YouTube channel. Monday also marked the highest single-day request total on iPlayer ever: 48 million requests for World Cup content and other programming combined. That number is staggering for any day, let alone a Monday.
The 7 a.m. rerun on BBC2 pulled another 1.1 million peak viewers, averaging 900,000. People were watching the game twice, apparently. Or catching up after deciding that sleep was actually important the first time.
That Kane interview went viral for a reason
Social media ate up the post-match footage of Harry Kane. His voice cracked while he joined teammates and fans in singing Oasis’s ‘Wonderwall’ after the win. That clip alone racked up 65 million views. It’s the kind of moment that makes you remember why people love this tournament. A captain, exhausted and emotional, singing along with the crowd. No script. No filter.
England now faces Norway in the quarterfinals on Saturday, July 11. That game kicks off at 10 p.m. BST. If it goes to extra time and penalties, it could finish closer to 1 a.m. Again. That didn’t stop anyone from watching against Mexico. It probably won’t stop them now.
England is three wins from glory. A victory over Norway would put them in the semifinals for the second time in eight years. Gareth Southgate led them to the final four in 2018. Now his team is one step closer to matching that run.
The potential semifinal is set for July 15 in Atlanta, kicking off at 8 p.m. BST. The final is July 19 in New Jersey, also at 8 p.m. BST. England has only reached one World Cup final in its history. That was back in 1966. They won it. The country has been waiting ever since.
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