Millions watched it, but the most concrete figure I found is that the England vs Mexico match was being talked about as potentially challenging the UK’s post-midnight TV record of 18.5 million viewers.

What the sources suggest

  • One report says millions of football fans were expected to stay up for the match.
  • Another says people across the South West gathered in the early hours to watch England beat Mexico, which supports that it drew a very large audience.
  • Coverage around the broader World Cup also says viewership has been stronger than expected across Fox, Telemundo, and Peacock.

Best answer

If you mean the live TV audience, the safest answer is: it was watched by millions, with one report pointing to a benchmark of 18.5 million for the UK post-midnight record.

Note

I did not find a single exact final audience total in the available coverage, so the most accurate response is the record-level estimate rather than a precise confirmed number.