More than 20 million Brits tuned in to watch England beat Germany on TV to reach the Euro 2020 quarter-finals yesterday.
The home side’s 2-0 triumph at Wembley attracted a peak TV audience of 20.6 million and 80% of viewers available at that time, the BBC said.
The clash also pulled in over 3.5 million live streams for the match across BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport combined.
Second-half goals from Raheem Sterling and captain Harry Kane gave England a decisive victory over the Germans, the first time they have beaten their old rivals in a major tournament knockout game since 1966.
England’s biggest match on home soil since Euro 96 was watched at Wembley by famous faces including David Beckham and Ed Sheeran. Also spotted in the 40,000 strong crowd were Ellie Goulding as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George.
Fans have now hailed Prince George as England’s lucky royal mascot and the young prince beamed from ear to ear as Sterling and Kane’s shots hit the back of the German net sending England to victory.
David Baddiel and Frank Skinner – who famously sang England anthem Three Lions – were also at Wembley and belted out the song alongside the other joyous supporters.
Former England captain Alan Shearer said he couldn’t remember Wembley ever being that loud for an England game, despite the reduced capacity, describing the atmosphere as “incredible.”
Meanwhile, grime star Stormzy cheered on the Three Lions at Box Park in Croydon.
It has been suggested, with the likes of France, the Netherlands, and reigning European champions Portugal already eliminated, this is England’s best chance of a major tournament success since 1966.
England are firm favourites to make the final on the right-side of the knockout tree, and on the left-side pundits say any of the remaining four teams could go all the way.
If England beat Ukraine, they will play the Czech Republic or Denmark in the semi-finals. The tournament draw also means that if England get to the final, Saturday’s trip to Rome will be the only one of their seven matches not at Wembley.
However, England fans hoping to jump on a plane to Rome to see their team’s showdown with Ukraine are likely to be disappointed due to current coronavirus restrictions.
Passengers will need proof of a negative coronavirus test taken in the 48 hours before travelling.
Then upon arrival, travellers from the UK must fill in a European Union passenger locator form before isolating for five days. This means that even if you were to touch down today, the earliest you would be out is Sunday (subject to a second Covid-19 test) meaning you will probably be watching the game from a hotel room.
The Football Association has therefore said it will not be selling tickets for the match in Rome. It will try to get tickets to England fans who are already in Italy via the British Embassy.
The only people able to avoid having to isolate are members of transport crews and those who can prove they are in Italy for “work, health or emergency.”
Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions will now travel to Rome for Saturday’s quarter-final, which kicks off at 8pm and will be live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Saturday night, with Belgium against Italy also live on Friday night.
Photo courtesy of the England Football Team Press Office.
