# 24m tune in to watch England-Argentina

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/24m-tune-in-to-watch-england-argentina/
- Published: 2026-07-16T11:51:33+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-27T04:13:41+00:00
- Original publisher: BBC Entertainment (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cwyjwdvq6dno?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
- Topics: Entertainment, Sport, UK, World

## Key points

- 24m watched England's World Cup semi-final loss to Argentina.
- Biggest BBC live audience since Euro 2020 final.
- England play France for third place; Argentina face Spain in final.

## Summary

A peak audience of 24 million people watched England's World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina, making it the most-watched live television event in the UK in five years. The figure underlines the scale of public interest in England's 2026 World Cup run, with the broadcast marking the BBC's biggest audience for a single event since the Euro 2020 final in 2021.

England lost 2-1 to Argentina in Atlanta, with the match averaging 22.1 million viewers across BBC One and iPlayer, plus a further 12.6 million streams on iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app. Anthony Gordon put England ahead early in the second half, before Enzo Fernández equalised and Lautaro Martínez's stoppage-time header sent defending champions Argentina through to a second successive final. England now play France in the third-place play-off in Miami on Saturday, while Argentina face Spain in the final in New Jersey on Sunday, with both matches broadcast live on the BBC.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.