A peak of 13.76 million viewers tuned in to watch England beat Panama at the World Cup on Saturday night, according to ITV. The match, broadcast across ITV, STV, ITVX and STV Player, saw the men's national football team secure the top spot in their group with a 2-0 victory. The viewing figure represented an 80% share of TV viewing at its peak.
Match Highlights and Key Moments
England were already guaranteed a place in the knockout phase following Friday's fixtures. Jude Bellingham opened the scoring, swiftly followed by a smart header from captain Harry Kane, who became England's highest scoring player at a World Cup with his 11th goal.
Celebrity Reactions
Former England captain Sir David Beckham shared photographs on Instagram, including one of Bellingham and Kane with the caption “leading by example” and another of Kane with “more records breaking”. He also shared a video of fans singing Wonderwall by Oasis at the MetLife stadium in New Jersey, calling it the unofficial World Cup anthem for the England team, saying “Sing it loud and proud.”
Presenting duo Ant and Dec, also at the game, shared photographs celebrating after England scored, captioning them “What a match.” EastEnders actor Ross Kemp commented on the match, saying “We don’t need a pundit to tell us right now that 2-0 is good enough but we were so exposed just then at the back. We need to sort out our defence if we are going to proceed in this World Cup. And we should do cause we have got some brilliant players.” Mumford and Sons singer Marcus Mumford shared a photograph of himself in an England kit with a lion emoji and the song Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve.
