England vs Scotland was UK’s most watched women’s game of all-time

Proof of the game's enormous growth

England's World Cup opener against Scotland on Sunday drew a peak audience of 6.1 million on BBC One, it has been confirmed. Goals from Nikita Parris and Ellen White helped the Lionesses over the line against a resolute Scottish side, as Phil Neville's team got their tournament off to a positive start with a 2-1 win. https://twitter.com/GabbyLogan/status/1138007132882837505 The viewing figures for the game offer encouragement with regards to the growth of the women's game in the United Kingdom, as it attracted 37.8% of the available audience. That broke the previous record of 4 million viewers for England's Euro 2017 semi-final against the Netherlands. The game was Scotland's first ever in a World Cup finals, and Claire Emslie got her country's first ever World Cup goal to put pressure on the English after a one-sided first half. England were able to hang on though, as they ran out 2-1 winners in a match that was closer than many had expected. https://twitter.com/FootballJOE/status/1137768978875650050 Ahead of the game, England fans were in confident mood with regards to their team's chances in the tournament. England reached the semi-finals in the last World Cup in Canada.