LONDON: A record-breaking peak TV audience of 11.7 million watched England’s Lionesses fall agonisingly short of a first World Cup final against the United States.

The BBC reported a peak share of 50.8pc in TV audience, making the 2-1 defeat the most-watched television programme of 2019 so far.

It is another moment of history for the Lionesses, who suffered heartbreak as Steph Houghton’s late penalty miss saw them knocked out at the hands of three-time winners US.

Figures have been up game by game, with 7.6m tuning into the quarter-final against Norway, but that figure has increased significantly with the nation gripped by World Cup fever.

It was predicted by Women’s World Cup in Numbers before the tournament that it would be the biggest version in the history of the event, and viewing figures support the claim.

Over 50,000 piled into the Parc Olympique Lyonnais, taking the overall spectator-count at the 2019 tournament to over 1,000,000.

With three games still to come, it could be the second-biggest event in history in terms of overall attendance – falling just short of Canada 2015 – as shown by Women’s World Cup in Numbers.

For more information on the Women’s World Cup and pre-tournament predictions on attendance figures, as well as guides on each team competing, visit https://www.womensworldcupinnumbers.com/.

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