World Cup 2018: England vs Croatia shatters TV ratings records

The 24.3m figure is the highest average audience for a single game ever

England vs Croatia shattered TV ratings records with a staggering 26.6 million people watching the Three Lions' World Cup exit on Wednesday evening.

Gareth Southgate's side's fairytale run in Russia came to an end as goals from Ivan Perisic and Mario Mandzukic saw Croatia into their first-ever World Cup final.

ITV announced that the peak audience for the match in Moscow was 26.6 million people, an audience share of 84 per cent. Between kick-off and the final whistle the average audience was 24.3m.

The 24.3m figure is the highest average audience for a single game ever, according to ITV.

Meanwhile, Gary Cahill and his team-mates must now pick themselves up for a third-place play-off against Belgium on Saturday.

That game may well prove to be the Chelsea stopper's last in an England shirt but Cahill said Wednesday night's setback for England should not be viewed as the end for the vast majority of this squad.

England's World Cup exit was watched in record numbers (REUTERS)

"Everyone is gutted, everyone is upset - unless you win this tournament there's always going to be a bad feeling when you go out, whatever stage it is," he said.

"We just fell short at the second to last hurdle but as a team we should be very proud of ourselves and, for me, looking at that young squad, we should just feel positive about the future.

"And if, and it's a big if, you can keep the squad progressing in the way I've seen in training over the last 50 or so days that we've been together, well, I think it's only a matter of time before they get their hands on some silverware."