Nearly 370,000 people stayed up late for Cape Verde's World Cup thriller with Argentina

07 Jul 2026, 12:24 by Emma Duffy · The42

AN AVERAGE AUDIENCE of 369,000 viewers tuned into Cape Verde and Argentina’s World Cup thriller live on RTÉ 2.

In figures provided to The 42, the national broadcaster confirmed a 67% share of the available audience for last Friday’s 11pm (Irish time) kick-off in Miami.

Argentina progressed to the Round of 16 after a 3-2 win over Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes and co, the game going to extra-time and finishing around 1.30am (Irish time).

It is RTÉ’s most streamed match of the tournament to date, generating 638,000 streams on RTÉ Player.

Meanwhile, England’s dramatic win over Mexico on Sunday night attracted an average audience of 89,000 on RTÉ 2, a 43% share of the available television audience.

The Three Lions’ wild 3-2 win at Estadio Azteca – which kicked off at the delayed time of 2am here – generated 260,500 streams on RTÉ Player.

And Spain’s 1-0 victory over Portugal on Monday evening (KO 8pm Irish time) had an average audience of 527,000, 40% of the available television audience. 616,000 streams have been recorded on RTÉ Player.

- With reporting from Sinéad Farrell