A peak television audience of 14.1 million saw England book their place in the World Cup knockout stages with Sunday’s 6-1 win over Panama.

The BBC announced on Monday that 14.1m watched on television – a share of 82.9 per cent – and there were 2.8m live stream requests across BBC online.

Harry Kane’s stoppage-time winner in England’s opening group game against Tunisia remains the most watched programme in 2018, with a peak audience of 18.3m, more than the Royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

England captain Kane scored a hat-trick in England’s biggest ever World Cup finals win in Nizhny Novgorod, as Gareth Southgate’s men advanced to the knockout stages.

After a group stage exit at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the humiliating defeat to Iceland at the 2016 European Championships, England supporters’ optimism is growing for Russia 2018.

John Stones scored twice and Jesse Lingard was also on target for England, who play Belgium in their final Group G contest on Thursday in a match to be broadcast on ITV.

The BBC said the average audience was 12.8m; it was 16.6m for the Tunisia win.

The Royal wedding had an average audience of 11.5m, while the Britain’s Got Talent final, on ITV, had an average of 11.2m viewers.

Figures do not account for those watching in pubs or on big screens.