The BBC recorded a peak audience of 24.7m, more than four-fifths of viewers, with the audience averaging at 20.7m, making it the highest audience for a sporting event since records began in1981, as fans saw a last-minute goal by Sol Campbell disallowed by Swiss referee Urs Meier, who ruled that John Terry had fouled the Portuguese goalkeeper.
The size of the audience for the quarter-final match, which ended 2-2 after extra time, beat the 20.9m viewers who watched England's 4-2 victory over Croatia.
That game also set a record for any England game in the tournament to date, with its average audience coming at 18.1m, a full 2.5m behind last night's average.
Last Sunday's game against France, screened on ITV, drew a peak of 20.7m with an average of 17.6m viewers.
Both matches beat Euro 2000 figures, when the biggest home match drew 17.9m to see England beat Germany 1-0 in a game that was broadcast on ITV and the BBC.
The biggest TV audience in the last World Cup peaked at 15.6m, when England lost 2-1 to Brazil in the quarter finals.
Euro 96 saw England's previous biggest audience, with 23.8m viewers tuning in to see a semi-final penalty shoot-out against Germany.
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