HAMBURG - Germany's 4-1 thrashing of England in Bloemfontein on Sunday in a round of 16 match in the World Cup drew a hefty 87,2percent share of the German television audience.

HAMBURG - Germany's 4-1 thrashing of England in Bloemfontein on Sunday in a round of 16 match in the World Cup drew a hefty 87,2percent share of the German television audience.

The match, played at Free State Stadium, was televised live in the late afternoon in Germany by public broadcaster ARD, and was watched by 25,57million people. Germany's population is 82million.

The figure does not include Germans who watched the game on large screens set up in public fan zones, at football fests and in front of bars and pubs.

Audience share for the German team's preceding match, a 1-0 group-stage victory over Ghana on Wednesday evening, was 79,7percent.

Three-time World Cup champions Germany are now favourites to win the tournament.

Germany face Argentina in a potentially explosive quarterfinal match at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is at 4pm. - Sapa-DPA and additional reporting by Sowetan