OVER ONE million people tuned in to watch the late drama in the World Cup qualifier on Sunday.

An average of 788,000 viewers watched the game on RTÉ2, which was a 75% share of the available audience. 

A further 435,000 streamed the game on RTÉ Player.

There was a peak audience of 1,017,000 viewers at 4.02pm, which coincided with the final moments of the game.

By comparison, an average of 711,000 viewers and a peak of 966,000 viewers watched Ireland-Portugal last Thursday on RTÉ2.

The fixture also garnered 317,000 streams on RTÉ Player.

To put that in wider context, RTÉ’s most watch sporting event in 2024 was Ireland v France in the Six Nations, which had an audience of 1,077,000 and an audience share of 64.8%. 

Meanwhile, an average audience of 109,000 watched Ireland U17s beat Canada in the World Cup on Friday, with over 334,000 tuning in at some point.

The Ireland U21 team’s loss to England on Friday was viewed by an average of 184,000 on RTÉ2, with over half a million watching at some point.

On Saturday, an average of 690,000 viewers watched the Irish rugby team’s defeat of Australia on RTÉ2 with a 54% audience share.

The game also had 167,000 streams on RTÉ Player.

Written by The 42 and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.