‘Bloody Nora,’ says Lineker, as England v Tunisia breaks record

England’s World Cup opener against Tunisia was the most streamed event ever on the BBC iPlayer.

The last-gasp 2-1 win in Volgograd  on Monday night had three million steam requests via the BBc iPlayer and BBC Sport website to make it the highest ever live viewing event for any BBC programme ever.

The happy ending which came after Harry Kane headed home in stoppage time was watched by more than 21 million on BBC television, peaking at 18.3million

To put things into perspective the Royal Wedding last month peaked at 13.1million.

BBC Sport anchor Gary Lineker tweeted: “OOOFT! Over 21 million of you watched the coverage of England v Tunisia. 18.3m peak on your televisions and more than 3m on . Bloody Nora.”

England v Tunisia on the channel also claimed a 69.2% share of the available audience with BBC Sports news correspondent Richard Conway claiming: “A glimpse of the future – people watching on whatever piece of glass is most convenient.”