England's Women's World Cup victory over China watched by staggering TV audience

05 August 2023 , 06:57

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England's Women's World Cup victory over China watched by staggering TV audience

The Lionesses' 6-1 victory over China attracted a staggering TV audience of 58m, FIFA revealed today.

‌There were 54m watching in China and another 4m viewers in the UK. The audience was the biggest by far for an England game at the World Cup.

More than 1.7m tickets have now been sold for the tournament, a new record, while digital traffic has already surpassed France 2019. A Fifa spokesperson said: "Over 1,715,000 tickets now sold for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

"China produced the highest audience for a single match anywhere in the world. A total of 53.9 million viewers watched their match against England. Traffic on FIFA’s Digital platforms in the first 15 days has already surpassed the entirety of France 2019."

They added that the tournament was 'capturing the hearts and minds of fans not only in the two co-host countries but across the globe'. Records have been broken in ticket sales, broadcast figures and digital media data.

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The tournament has also created new highs in hospitality and merchandise sales, as well as for the number of volunteers. For the first time, teams from all six Confederations won a match at the tournament.

England celebrates Lauren James scoring their third goal against China (Morgan Hancock/REX/Shutterstock)

HAVE YOUR SAY! Can England win the Women's World Cup? Comment below.

New Zealand became the first team from Oceania to register a victory, while the Philippines, Zambia, Portugal, Jamaica, South Africa, and Morocco also got their first win. England meanwhile, have now turned their attention to their last-16 clash with Nigeria on Monday morning.

And keeper Mary Earps has claimed the side fear nobody after three group wins from three: “I don’t think we fear anyone in general anyway,” she said. “I think our qualities have shown through in however many months and years we’ve been playing together, so I think we’re in a good spot.

“And I’m glad it happened for us (against China). It’s not going to always go that way, but as long as we’re keeping the wins on the board, then no complaints here.”

Jeremy Armstrong