England’s World Cup victory over Tunisia was the most-watched TV programme in the UK so far this year.

An average audience of 13.7 million watched the team’s opening game of the tournament, which was won 2-1, thanks to a goals from the captain, Harry Kane.

Ratings peaked at 18.3 million during the closing minutes, making up more than two-thirds (69%) of all UK TV viewers.

“Astonishing for an opening group game,” tweeted Gary Lineker, who introduced the match on BBC One. “The power of football and the World Cup.”

“Bloody Nora!” he added.

The audience figures for the match were far higher than for the royal wedding in May, as well as 2018’s previous most-watched programme, Britain’s Got Talent.

In addition, 3m requests were made to stream the game online via the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport, the biggest live viewing for any BBC programme online.

The average audience figure of 13.7 million could be revised upwards when the full ratings are published next week. The number will include those who recorded the match and watched up to seven days later.

Some of the largest audiences in UK television history have been for England World Cup games.

The semi-final clash with West Germany in 1990 was watched by 25.2 million people – the biggest UK audience for a World Cup match. In 1998, 23.8 million tuned in to watch England play Argentina in the last 16 of the World Cup in France.

If England make it into the knockout stage of this year’s tournament, TV audiences could once again top 20 million.

The team play their second group match against Panama on Sunday. Coverage on BBC One starts at 12.10pm, with kick-off at 1pm.