England’s 4-2 win against Croatia in their World Cup 2026 Group L opener had a peak television audience of 15.4 million, according to ITV, as the country gets behind Thomas Tuchel’s side in their quest for glory.
Harry Kane’s double and second-half strikes from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford set the Three Lions on their way in Dallas on Wednesday night, with Tuchel raving about his team’s second-half performance having been labelled “confused” by assistant coach Anthony Barry during the break.
ITV said that an average of 14.2 million tuned in for the match with an average of 10 million for their entire broadcast from 8pm BST to 11.35pm BST. The broadcaster added that 2.3 million were in the 16-34 age bracket, but their figures did not include those who streamed the action on personal devices.
“The peak audience on a TV set is the highest peak audience of 2026 (ahead of The Traitors, 9.8 million), and the highest peak audience on any channel or streamer since the Uefa Euro 2024 tournament,” ITV added in a statement.
England’s next encounter, against Ghana on Tuesday night, will be live on BBC One from Boston with the match kicking off at 9pm BST.
Between matches, England have returned to their camp in Kansas City, with Tuchel offering specific praise to captain Kane after the Croatia win.
“If you see the commitment of our captain, of our number nine, in extra time to block a crucial shot after a set piece with all his body and his commitment to buy into a defensive action like this, then you know everything about his performance today,” said Tuchel.
“Complete performance, absolute leader and he is all in – he’s all in physically, he’s all in mentally, and he’s all in.”
Tuchel also hailed Bellingham’s ability to turn up when it matters most.
“You can rely on Jude in these moments,” Tuchel added. “He loves these pressure games. That brings out the best in him, so that’s an easy decision to let him play and to trust him.
“Also, because of the last 16 days, 17 days, how he bought into the idea of team spirit and brotherhood, and into the idea of how we want to play football, which is slightly different to his position in Real Madrid.”
