A peak audience of 16.3 million people tuned in to watch England beat the Democratic Republic of Congo at the World Cup.
The figures were achieved on BBC One and iPlayer making it the biggest live audience of 2026 for the broadcaster.
The thrilling match on Wednesday night saw captain Harry Kane secure the men’s national football team a spot in the round of 16 after scoring two second-half goals.
According to the broadcaster, the match averaged at 14 million viewers and was the most-watched moment on the BBC this year with 10.4 million streams across iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and app.
Its new 3D experience was used 285,000 times during the game alone with the feature used 3.1 million times across the tournament so far.
The feature has become an alternative way for fans to watch the World Cup, allowing audiences to relive and view matches in real time from every angle.
Wednesday night’s match saw a number of stars celebrate the victory including Sir Keir Starmer, Sir David Beckham and EastEnders actor Ross Kemp while pop star Harry Styles played the start of the match on the big screens at Wembley stadium for fans ahead of his 10th night at the arena.
He was seen on the floor of the stadium jumping around and cheering following Kane’s first goal.
The match in Atlanta ended with England fans belting out a rendition of Oasis’ Wonderwall with the national team singing it back to their supporters.
Oasis’ singer Liam Gallagher posted on X: “Cmon England cmon Wonderwall”.
England will next face co-hosts Mexico on Monday July 6 at the Mexico City Stadium.
