The qualification of Spain for the World Cup semifinals became this Monday the biggest television event of the year. The broadcast of the match between Spain and Portugal (1-0) on La 1 of RTVE achieved a spectacular 65% audience share and an average of 10,985,000 viewers, becoming the most watched broadcast of 2026 to date.
The match kept the excitement until the last moment thanks to Mikel Merino's goal in the 90 +1 minute, which gave the Spanish national team the victory against Portugal and sealed their passage to the next round of the championship. The match was also marked by what was Cristiano Ronaldo's farewell to a World Cup.
The interest in the duel was massive. According to audience data, more than 15.5 million viewers connected at some point with the broadcast, confirming the enormous following that the Spanish national team generates in major international events.
With these figures, RTVE signs the most watched broadcast of the year on television and reinforces La 1's leadership in sports broadcasts, consolidating the World Cup as one of the great television events of 2026.
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