England’s heartbreaking World Cup exit was the most watched British TV event in six years.

Over 26 million fans watched the Three Lions 2-1 semi-final defeat to Croatia. England has a population of 53 million.

Ratings peaked at 26.34 million when Mario Mandžukic’s extra-time strike ended England’s hopes.

The game’s climax was the most watched bit of TV since the London 2012 Olympics closing ceremony.

ITV , which screened the clash, had an 84% audience share at one point.

The rating dwarfed England’s quarter-final win over Sweden. A peak of 19.9m viewers watched Saturday’s 2-0 victory.

Around 23.8 million watched the dramatic last 16 penalty shoot-out win over Colombia.

England now face Belgium on Saturday in the third place playoff.