20m tuned in to Battle of Britain

A PEAK audience of 20 million tuned

in to see England take on Scotland on Friday in what was dubbed the Battle of Britain.

Figures announced yesterday by ITV also revealed that an average of 13.1 million viewers watched the tense goalless draw between the historic rivals at Wembley.

Meanwhile, the match also set a streaming record for the commercial broadcaster, with 4.8 million streams across ITV Hub and Scotland’s STV Player.

The game is the most watched of the delayed Euro 2020 tournament so far, and the most popular England game since the 2018 World Cup semifinal against Croatia, which attracted 27.5 million viewers.

It also beat the average audience of 11.6 million who watched the BBC last Sunday for England’s opening 1-0 win over Croatia.

The biggest watched game not involving a home nation was the France v Germany clash last Tuesday on ITV, with 9.4 million viewers.

It was the first time England and Scotland had faced each other in a tournament since Euro 96 – a match which England won 2-0.

On Tuesday, England face the Czech Republic at Wembley, which will decide whether they finish first or second in Group D. If Gareth Southgate’s team are top, they play the runners-up of Group F, which features France, Germany, Portugal and Hungary. If England finish second, they will face the winners of Group E, which includes Spain.

Friday’s draw also kept Scotland, managed by Steve Clarke, in the Euro 2020 race.